Kitty’s View

The view outside my window

whose sill upon which Hello Kitty sits,

is that of a large magnolia tree.

This tree was likely planted

by the previous owner of this house,

a view witnessed by his widow

before a stroke caused her collapse

unto an unforgiving flagstone floor.

I don’t know if she’d been

embalmed or cremated…

you need a body to haunt people.

Colorado, Oregon and Washington state

allow another option–natural organic reduction

or (indelicately) composting.

Wood chips and straw share your casket,

three months later,

you are reduced to a cubic yard of soil,

dirt to dirt

in two dumps out of a wheel barrow.

I would consider this option if

my state allowed it. I like the idea of

contributing to a tree’s ecosystem–

and the idea of Kitty waving to me brightly

from her perch near the window

and to forgive her that night time terror

so extreme, I couldn’t scream–

her arm pumping loud with madness

–in my bed.

(Clipped article on my desk: Cremation or Composting?)