I remember you thinking
about what to do when we're gone.
There are so many options now,
"Bury me gently in the cold dark earth"
"Bury me in satin...
Lay me down in a bed of roses...
Send me away with the words of a love song...
... oh oh"
I could be a tree!
Or diamonds.
I would make a nice ring, I think.
It was easier than the dreaming,
the nightmares, really.
Of who we'd have to be, if not deceased.
What mediocrity, mundanity could bring me sanity?
Become my serenity?
Easiest, really, to dream of the dirt;
At least it's not agony.
I almost believed you,
I certainly gave you the opportunity to prove it.
I know I didn't honor your wish—
to sparkle for eternity.
But I think this is better.
See, I've buried you.
Long ago, actually.
Today, your branches are my reprieve.
Sheltering me from the mocking winds.
Buffering the heat.
You couldn't dream of a life worth living.
Perpetual existence exhausted you.
And that's okay.
You get to rest now.
I hope the breeze tickles you
I hope you feel the flutters in your leaves.
I hope you revel in the simplicity.
You were not meant to survive.
Yet you made sure I would breathe,
You made sure I could thrive.
Now, I set you free.
You did everything you were meant to do.
Thank you.
Photo by Allegra Boverman.
Kieryn McCann
Kieryn (per/thons) grew up in the greater Kansas City metro before moving to a rural town about an hour outside of Wichita, Kansas. Thons full-time job is Primary Onboarding Specialist to per one New Human still in Training, colloquially known as parenting. In the time thon manages to carve out for perself, Kieryn can be found hanging out in various queer haunts in South Central Kansas molding dreams into reality with other community builders. As a neurodivergent, Kieryn writes according to per sense of synesthesia and how the words “taste” and “feel” in per mouth as if they were food. This lends itself to a style rich with alliteration and unconventional rhyming schemes.