To keep death from touching them, <br />The nurses chatter around the corpse, <br />Gossiping, joking as they perform <br />Its last ablution. <br />The movement of hands is quick and deft <br />Even as they turn it, palms flat <br />Against the still-warm back and buttocks <br />Where the blood is draining to. <br />They tie the mouth shut, <br />Fold the arms, <br />Then swaddle the body in plastic, <br />(so it won't freezer-burn?) <br />Attaching a tag to the toe, <br />Because already he has forgotten his name.<br /><br />Lillian Susan Thomas<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/wrapping-a-corpse/
