[ music: John Lombardo/lyric: Natalie Merchant ]



as frail hinges
pivot on a case's door
commemorative
souvenirs from places
containers change
with each occasion

a cellophane encased
display of paper
certificate
to credit years of service
a tool of central enterprises
the early hope
for permanence
the words
the rings
consistency
the social security
a miracle is high tragedy

thought mistaken
for a memory
clear the dust from
smiles in boxes
pass a patterned wall
recall their voices

a local post
will list your friends
in order of
disappearance
the lawn scattered

tins feed birds
a portion baked for
absent guests
and the mass edition icon
God sent comfort
your salvation
but who grants absolution
for sins that
never were committed

tension makes a tangle
of each thought
becomes an inconvenience
sound as it never penetrates
as servile edges
break and
feint

thought mistaken
for a memory
a dress length
assassination
a fractured family tie
another christening

christening
christening
christening