Endings

Kayla Wildman

"Carnivorous" by Haily Wilson, Colored Pencil/Marker

the life of the soul after death –
as I read,
she nods her head
and sometimes manages
to say a few words

the fragrant lotion
I smooth on her hands
each time I visit –
when she dies
they give the bottle back to me

before the cremation
I fold back the sheet
to touch, one more time,
the hands I held so much
those last weeks

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