A question you consider as you walk: are your mother’s ashes trash? If a body burns,becomes a weight in a silver gift bag? If a body burns, turns into a secret in a sealed urn?
Gravity and balance: so instead you walk and worry about your daughters. But this morningyou also read: before the Industrial Revolution cremation only took place outdoors. Newfurnace technology changed the way we dispose of bodies.
Is your mother’s body disposed of ? Body that formed yours, body you lived inside, herdelicate bones, her tiny frame you would never replicate, always outsized, grown beyond her.
A sweep of grief, you write on the notes app on your phone, pleased with yourself.But that’s not it.
What about the time you logged into the COVID testing site which pulled up your mother’sname…
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The American Poetry Review (Digital) - 1 Issue, January/February 2024