squeak
he wasnt sure he heard anything
squeak
squeak
something had to be something
squeak
he stopped movingfroze exactly where he
stood
to
see if he could identify the sound where it came fromsounded so near
so
near
nothing
Akay then
he began wauksqueak heheld a filled hummingbird feeder time
to slop the pigs they were sipping a gallon and a quart of sugarwater a day he called them
hummingpigs unless
you bought twentyfive pounds of sugar every ten days two weeks you might
not believe it either they
were pigs on wing
he lifted the quart feeder to
his face it hung from a bent brass
clotheshanger he fashioned to hold it
its tongue hooked under a wire latch that was fitted in between two reversed us
in the wire wrap that wound under the glass lip made to suspend the inverted bottle by
it was three years old hed hung it for three years this was the first time it ever protested
he took a couple of steps across the
redwood porch towards the near fenceline where he hung the feeders and listened
squeak
whawas the squeaking about
he stopped
utterly engrossed in this smallest sound THEN
AN ENORMOUS CRASH splintered wood sheared
a small aircraft sliding past him sideways its cowl its blade chewing up spitting gravel clay its aluminum-alloy skin shredding blind rivets popping like .22 rounds whistling past him the plane now spinning clockwise breaking up flames smoke the feeder in his hand shattered spattered by sugarwater plane parts strewing its bulk descending the hill out of sight AN EXPLOSION BALL OF FIRE
a small aircraft sliding past him sideways its cowl its blade chewing up spitting gravel clay its aluminum-alloy skin shredding blind rivets popping like .22 rounds whistling past him the plane now spinning clockwise breaking up flames smoke the feeder in his hand shattered spattered by sugarwater plane parts strewing its bulk descending the hill out of sight AN EXPLOSION BALL OF FIRE
BLACK
SMOKE RISING
he stomped his feet on the porch no pain turned his head side to side no pain jigged his shoulders up and down
no pain looked down at his chest arms legs no blood
no pain looked down at his chest arms legs no blood
no blood on the redwood
no shock
amazed
then just above the volume of the squeak
he uttered dully Not sumtin yasee
everday
