The dead don't need their earrings
The dead don't need fancy baubles
pendulous in rotting flesh
clattering like lost change in fallen hair
The dead don't need their teeth capped
or fingernails trimmed
The dead don't need their pillows fluffed
or the lipstick wiped from their dry teeth
The dead don't feel cramped
they don't miss the sunlight or become
annoyed at the sound of the worms The dead don't miss us The dead don't wonder if we are
thinking about them
on birthdays and anniversaries
The dead don't worry who got the keys
to the safe deposit box
The dead don't cry
their moisture is long gone
The dead don't laugh
the air in their closed boxes
has other work to do The dead don't need us The dead don't need our tears on a
discarded handkerchief blown up against
their shiny new headstones
The dead don't need our nagging regret
or the burden of our guilt
The dead don't find comfort in
the faces we make at their grassy beds
They don't need our despair our tears don't soak
through to the dead and our pounding on the earth
does not disturb their sleep The dead need only time The dead need only time
to let their earrings fall
and the flesh slough off their bones The dead are busy The dead have their own mysteries
and the dead haven't the time
to take out their earrings and listen to us
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