Laura Solomon
Sky Burial
I think I would like a sky burial
–
No photographs allowed as the vultures
take me skywards.
I’d have to live in Tibet, get friendly
with the locals –
Earn somebody’s respect.
Those gigantic birds would circle
overhead,
Waiting patiently, then swoop,
My body parts would be swept up
in talon and beak –
The easiest way to take to the
sky.
More practical than cremation
When the ground’s too hard and
rocky to dig a grave –
This would be my exit strategy.
Instructions can be found in the
Tibetan book of the dead
For this ceremony intended to help
my spirit move on from
The uncertain plane between life
and death into the next life.
Who’d want to be hanging around
on planet Earth
When you could be digested by greats
of the sky,
Something with a decent wingspan
And spend your after death, pre-digestion
hours,
Hovering high in midair,
Waiting to be born again.
Go back to Art
in Society # 14, Contents
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