michael e woods: Paying for My Father’s Remains
Paying for my father’s remains
this is why i wanted a pit in the last bite, a shovel and a gavel
this is why i wanted a leather briefcase
this is why i wanted the tomatoes to stop budding, why i winter wanted the boil
this is cavity why i wanted birth
this hoax of honesty is why i wanted
grandma is this a second wanted, why this is why
i wanted a pit and bucket
this is why i looked for wanting in the grip
this is a lacquer look i wanted why
finish this is why i wanted dirt
this is why i wanted a drill bit finger tapping on the table
this a dropped penny
this is wanted i thought: some tube-sock highway and a body
this is why i wanted at least the cardboard box
this is why i wanted to leave the office
this father’s ashes i wanted why
in this room i thought, why is this a want to buy
here is a handshake: why is this a wanted smile
this is why i wanted a cremation and a pit
this is why i wanted the car keys and another scream into quiet lobby
this is why i wanted a breath and a fan, a beak and a toga, a bit tongue, or here
this is why i wanted to come along. come alone now,
this a long come here
michael e woods used to live with a family of raccoons. He edits the Columbia Poetry Review and teaches at Columbia College Chicago where he is an MFA candidate. He received the Merrill Moore Prize for Poetry in 2015 from Vanderbilt University. Recent work appears in The Rising Phoenix Review, The New Territory, and Eclectica Magazine. Forthcoming works can be seen soon in Solidago Journal, The Prodigal's Chair, and The Nassau Review. Find him online @michaelewoods.