Oneness

The poet’s last wish is to be one with the Earth in death. He offers himself up to the grass and trees that feed on West Coast loam and reach for the splendor of the azure sky. 

Unlike my dear older sister
Who selected to leave
Existence as ashes
Made in oven flames,
[ Worst dream for any Christian ]
My last wish
Would be for burial
Six feet deep,
Laying face up
In my box of pine wood
Lined in silk,
Dressed in my Sunday best
Stone black, down to the dress shirt,
My narrow
Black body
Over time
Devolves, gracious offering
Feeding West Coast loam,
Grass and local trees
Each reaching for their share
Of the cloudy light blue
Splendour. This way,
The Earth and I
Achieve oneness—