17. The Departed

To seal them in

we write them down,

photograph them,

store them as bits-and-bytes

that are no more permanent

than flesh,bone and blood.

And once sealed,

we forget these keepsakes.

They themselves persist

in our memory

whether once-loved or hated

by flesh, bone and blood.

But what is memory?

Where is it?

Where does it reside?

In your cerebellum?

In mine?

(Mush to mush

ashes to ashes

we’ll all burn

when uranium flashes).

Who will remember us?

To seal us in

they’ll write us down,

photograph us,

store us as bits-and-bytes

that are no more pertinent

than flesh, bone and blood.