"A Corpse of Vortices"
—Sophie's Last Coherent Journal Entry
to Henri from the County Mental Hospital,
Barnwood Rural District, Gloucester

After they kill me—
they'll bury me a pauper
despite my money and Our Work—
which they'll steal or auction

Before I'm murdered and buried—
I'll swallow handfuls of sunflower seeds—
with my tongue—I'll swirl them to a fury—
when I'm incapable of a future—
they'll burst from my mouth

You can find me when the sun is up—
but don't come when the moon is lit
unless it's at your back—
When you arrive—I'll disperse
in energized colors and cones
the vortex of our form.

Copyright © 2009 Tom Holmes All rights reserved
from Crab Creek Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission