I AM NOT A CORPSE

Bill Yarrow

A corpse cannot cry. A man who cannot

cry is a corpse. I am not a corpse, alas.

If I were, I'd be in a suit. If I were, I'd be

the main event, the center of attention.

All the vultures would be my friends.

All the grubs would love me.

I'd be in touch with dirt, the slime divine,

the slutty mud, the lovely muck.

Or something a little more incendiary,

a mite more vital, robust, fume inducing.

Back to my thesis: a corpse cannot cry.

The tear ducts are bankrupt in death.

There's a haughtiness that sets in, that

sees in raw emotion its sour avatar.

Bill Yarrow is the author of five full-length books of poetry and five poetry chapbooks. His poems have been published in Confrontation, Gargoyle, PANK, Contrary, Diagram, Thrush, RHINO, Chiron Review, and many other journals. His most recent book is ACCELERANT from Nixes Mate Books.