The Afterlife
       

Two boys found her on the beach
and started performing surgery,
popping out glassy eyes,
unscrewing the head.
Others noticed and huddled close
to watch. The boys let a little girl
with a striking resemblance
take the head and she sat
under an umbrella pulling a comb
through long blond hair.
A seagull swooped, plucked
an eyeball that rolled away.
The arms came off.
The boys stuck them in sand
so it looked as if
a buried person were clawing
her way up from deep
in the earth.
They threw legs back
and someone's dog dived into surf
fetching one, which made
everyone laugh.
Then the sun sank.
Nobody stayed.
Waves kept rolling.
All that remained was the torso
like a capsule or an ark,
which nobody wanted,
but soon small creatures
arrived, arm and leg sockets
round doors
for easy access and escape.

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Copyright © 2021 Neil Carpathios All rights reserved
from The Door on Every Tear
Resource Publications
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission