Eulogy for Grace

I am standing in a mud
gutter down by the train tracks.
killing a woodchuck down
between the power lines.

dry rot. shiver. fast rainstorm.

I am holding tight to the woodchuck
and howling good girl, good girl,
good girl, good girl, good girl, over
and over and louder
and louder.

when I was small, we laid my things
in the yard, by the lilac bush
where I picked out what to throw away.
sit. stay. good girl.

shiver, the tender neck
grows slick and slicker,
the taste of blood, sweet ichor
the heat source,
candle, light
and lighter,
this dirt letter.

I am steadying my hand:
cutting the woodchuck open

I could count the rings,
count how long I’ve been sitting with it.
the things we keep and the things we throw away.
a box of photographs. a quilt.
a woodchuck’s bleeding core.

Art by Gonzalo Navarro

Gonzalo Navarro is an illustrator, sculptor, photographer, writer… thing-maker, based in New Zealand. He is also an award-nominee author with his graphic novel Aotearoa Whispers. He works with different media, mainly ink and watercolours, and enjoys the magic of delivering a message without words.