M A R C H 1 9 9 7 ![]() VILLANELLE AFTER A BURIALby Steven Cramer | |||||||||||||
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Whatever they turned into wasn't ash. Afraid of finding teeth, or something bony, We had to face the aftermath of flesh.
Father's looked like coral: coarse, whitish.
More like a grainy noise that rose, a shush
Takes just two shovelfuls of dirt to finish
A dusty enough word, though, for the wish
We drove off in three pairs, each astonished
Copyright © 1997 by The Atlantic Monthly Company. All rights reserved. The Atlantic Monthly; March 1997; Villanelle After A Burial; Volume 279, No. 3; page 52. |
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