The Mortician’s Journal, Last Entry
The Southern Lights are shining
Off the nickels on the eyes of the deceased men
As they float nightly
Down the big river,
For women, they put a pearl under the tongue
The morticians all carry umbrellas and write in tiny notebooks while looking at the stars
I took one off a corpse-barge as it drifted by
Forgotten,
I started reading the last written on page first
He asked a question
I’m not sure of whom
Do flightless birds
Still swallow the stone?
Nate Maxson is a writer and performance artist. He is the author of several collections of poetry including 'The Whisper Gallery' and 'The Age Of Jive'. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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