Observations on Dead Things

a dead shark ended up on a subway car in New York Cityit was riding the subway to Queens, blood shining on its wet mouth like lipglossauthorities threw it away at the end of the line

a dead thing lies in the sand in the front yardhairless, grey like old milkflies have started to use its body as an incubatora bee chews –sucks?– at a small hole in the dead thing’s facedeathly kisses

shoo— I wave my hand like a wandthe insects do not stop their workthey abuse the dead thingfilling its mouth with eggs, yellow filingsI use a newspaper to scoop up the tiny bodyand throw the whole microbiome into the garbage can at the side of the house

children will rip the wings off Japanese beetles that hide in the rose bushesjust to watch them buzz in vain on the sidewalk