The Golden State

I say a prayer for Alice but while I am doing it my mind wanders and I callously think of all the administrative bullshit that is about to come my way. I will have to explain no doubt to the hospital and maybe the police who I am and why I am the one who had the old lady in my care and failed her and they probably won’t tell me anything about Alice because I’m not a relative and Mark and Yarrow will probably try to send me to prison not to mention that I am a witness, maybe among the first, to the attempted secession taking place up the road and I just pull hard on my cigarette and think It’s all out of my hands.