The tannic acid in the swamp
Had preserved the wounded body
It looked like maybe all winter
From the autumn before

  - - -

But the man from the University
Said straight-faced to us it looked like
This murder had lain unsolved, unwritten
For a thousand years or more

  - - -

He said snowbanks are where you'll find
People gone missing since Christmas
He said the snowbanks keep their secrets
Long enough police lose interest

  - - -

Then the cold is like a meat locker
Preserving the body who knows
Usually the advice we're given
Is to strip off all of the clothes

  - - -

Sometimes even a layer of their skin

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