20210412

Things I Want in My Coffin

Ashley Prince



 

 

Not that time will matter, but my watch from Dad.

Line it with a quilt made by Mom and Grandma;

a treasured, stitched hug warming the passage.

A pen and paper. Book of Canadian poetry.

The postcards of our travels, those nights we danced

to blues music, the image of our secluded lake.

Throw in a map in case I get lost along the way.

It’d be nice to know I look alluring, so please

keep my hair long and dress me in a skirt.

The words that had yet to touch these lips

or be engraved across a page - bury them.

Tuck in that tiny little bit of my heart, put on reserve

if he had ever wanted me back - he’s lost his chance.

But please leave out my wit and ability to laugh,

pair it with my love and optimism; embody them

in those solitary nights when even mice prefer

to remain silent, afraid of catching grief.

 

 

Ashley Prince is a writer and social worker from the Ottawa Valley, Ontario. She holds a BA from the University of Prince Edward Island and a MSW from Carleton University. She has been published in bywords.ca, the UPEI Arts Review and has a poem forthcoming in The Maynard.

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