[Newspoetry] NEWSPOEM -- Bodies

[Robert Porter]

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE BODIES

Daily, they bring more of them to my door
And I am accountable for them
But I ran out of room years ago
And the equipment is broken beyond repair

Friends and enemies, relatives and strangers
Killed by their parents, their leaders, their God
Murdered by violence, starvation and fatal indifference
Destroyed by grinding, dehumanizing detachment

I thought I could show them the proper respect
I wanted to give them some final gift of dignity
But the system got backed up
And I was drowning in the overflow

So finally I did what was easiest
I tossed them out back to rot
I pretended I was fulfilling my responsibilities
And hid my failure in a pile of corpses

Just like everybody else.