The Funeral​

Issue 10

Thumb shut your eyes if you
Are not ready. Do you wear
A badge on your lapel? Is your shirt pressed?
Will you cry at the funeral?
It could not be otherwise.
 
Here is stillness. Here is the
Second-to-last carriage of a train
Two stops from Bethlehem.
Here is the manger. The moment
Of becoming. Sheep’s bleat
 
Donkey’s bray. It it is loud enough
For you to think again.
You must be your own mother.
The water blackens with opportunity.
Brackish with uncertainty.
 
Dredge the dregs of the sea
Sea bird, drink deep and balance.
It gets quiet when it is all over.

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C.W. Bryan is the author of two collections of poetry. His debut chapbook Celine: An Elegy was published with Bottlecap Press in 2023. His first full-length collection, No Bird Lives in my Heart is forthcoming with In Case of Emergency Press in 2024. He lives in Atlanta, GA where he writes poetry, nonfiction and short fiction. He is currently writing with Sam Kilkenny at poetryispretentious.com.

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