Carbon

"Yes, this is available for your pets."

Advertisement for LifeGem Memorials--
the company that specializes in turning human
remains into diamonds.




When I die, I'll be hard-pressed
to turn into a diamond

a yellowed husk of half-gram weight
estoppelled by my sojourn

from claiming polish, fit or lustre
quality or clarity

unfit to live among the stars
or any singularity

And what will Mr. Saint Pete think
when I, mortal, uncoil?--

he'll treasure gems of better cut
and send me to a mohel

to facet forty days and nights
in carborundum, tempered

by blasts of heat upon my seat
until I shine, then pester

him to try to smuggle me
past borders, snugged in colon

he'll tell me then to kiss his ass
and I might just oblige him

I'll climb right in and trust for once
as I eschew my fate

those puckered cheeks won't up and say
Oh, what ameliorate!