Prayer for Retirement

Emily Hawkins

Let my skin sludge off my bones

And let my heart be pulled from its arteries.

Pick it from between my ribs

And get your hands a little messy. 

May my eyes roll from their sockets

And may all my tendons stiffen and dry.

May my hair fray and splinter

And may my fingernails crack.

Touch the shadows under my lips 

While they part and stay parted.

Allow my neck to settle by yours

And hear your pulse beneath my ear. 

Grant me this living, my love, 

I adore how you die with me.