30 Poems in 30 Days

Looking for Dead Bodies

Poem the twenty-ninth

Photo by Jeremy McKnight on Unsplash

I miss looking for dead bodies —

Digging massive holes at the beach for bones
Sneaking off into the woods to turn over logs
Peeking into the windows of the condemned hospital
Climbing the rickety fence to watch the funeral home
Hoping to catch a glimpse of the uncanny nonperson

Curiosity breeds strange animals of children —

We dragged the lake with my body, arms spread
Pulled behind the pedal-boat by my brothers
Collecting slimy sea-weed, wrapped up like a mummy
Hoping to have a monster catch my foot or
Disturb some bloated, rotting corpse

Morbid kids dissect roadkill with a stick —

Waiting for hearses and play-acting curses,
Singing spells to raise the dead, we pretended
Piles of leaves contained ancient remains
Mulchy flowerbeds were shallow graves
And delightful murderers hid around every corner