Decomposition
I’ll leave you the light from my eyes, baby
when they go dim
All the sounds I couldn’t hear but wished I could
I’ll leave you my mother’s will to live
The softest grass for your bare feet
And my father’s peace with surrender
But not the turmoil, baby
Not the darkest nights
And from my grandfathers, the moon and the stars, the sugar and the fire
I’ll leave you the charity and kindness and birdsong of my grandmothers
And all the love I’ve had for everything and everyone
All at once
And all the beautiful words from this invented language that crashed out of me, baby
Like a raging river through a broken dam
Decomposition is a collage of multiple layers containing a real cicada in a shadow box frame created with the following historical sources:
Lymphatic vessels and glands of the human neck and thorax by N.H. Jacob. Lithograph. 1831-1854
Muscles of the leg and foot—medial side view, with knee bent and foot flexed. Artist unknown. Ink and watercolour. 19th century
A bunch of roses and other flowers by E. Champin. Lithograph. 1850
