a cabin in the woods

A cabin in the woods

In the flatland near the north-westerly coast where the wind blows hard
and is often rainy and cold; my great-grandparents planted many trees
that eventually became a forest, not a big forest, but enough to give
ease against the wind that sometimes blew roofs off barns and houses.
The perennials took root, although those near the sea were warped
Inside the woods, wild animals thrived, foxes, rabbits and many birds
A cabin was built to observe flora and fauna, and it was to a cabin
like this, my brother moved in an attempt to hide from the busy world
he was suffering of anthropophobia that had got worse as he aged.
He shopped at a grocery shop of the type that stock many things knew
of him when he came, after closing time once a week to buy food
the shop also cashed his invalid pension.
The shopkeeper rang me, he had not been seen for weeks the worry was
he might be ill and needed help; I went to visit him.
His dog didn’t bark when I came, looked starved opened a tin of
food meant for my brother, fed the dog as it sat by the door in a futile
attempt to guard the entrance.
I knocked on his door and looked to see if the window curtain stirred
it didn’t; I broke the door down and found him hanged by the smell
he had hung there for some time. I called the police to check if he had
been a victim of a violent crime; no, it was just another suicide.
Feeling sorry his sad life had ended, death had set him free the only thing
 I could do for him now was to look after his dog.