Parents - 1968: Found Poem

Parents - 1968, New York Times.

Linda failed to return home from a dance Friday night.
On Saturday
she admitted she had spent the night
with an Air Force Lieutenant.

The Aults decided on a punishment
that would "wake Linda up."
They ordered her
to shoot the dog
she had owned about two years.

On Sunday,
The Aults and
Linda
took the dog into the desert
near their home.
They
had the girl
dig a shallow grave.
Then

Mrs. Ault
grasped the dog between her hands and
Mr. Ault
gave
his daughter
a .22 caliber pistol
and told her
to shoot the dog.

Instead,
the girl
out the pistol
to her right temple
and shot herself.

The police said
there were no charges that could be filed
against the parents
except possibly

cruelty
to
animals.