Please Just Stay Dead
Nicole Dollanganger
All the pets I’ve buried
Just wanted me to know sometimes it’s ok
To let a good thing go
Wrap you in yarn and grass
Embalm you with milk and lay you to rest
In cardboard lined with silk
Wildfires have been eating you
Inside of my head trying to smoke you out
Or burn you alive in it
This time, please just stay dead
This living room memorial
Doesn’t bear a name
I guess I can’t blame you
But I hate you all the same
I wear your homemade tattoos
All over my skin
You put your cigarettes out on me
They’re still sinking in
Wildfires have been eating you
Inside of my head trying to smoke you out
Or burn you alive in it
This time, please just stay dead
This time, please just stay dead