April 2005  

Last Will    © by    Joanna Catherine Scott
 

When I die, heap me with flowers—
rose of sunset, honeysuckle pale as dawn,
delphinium the color of a midday sky.
Ignite my bones with tiger lily, lavender,
burn up my flesh in tongues of canna flame.

Plant my ashes in the ground beneath a sapling,
let me grow into an oak, an elm, a sycamore,
some giant tree fueled with my sap,
my spirit soughing in its head,
its shade my heart’s eventual contentment,

a place where lovers come to spread a picnic lunch,
sip wine, roll over and gaze up,
drift through exhalations of my leaves
toward fragrant sky.

Let great-great-grandchildren climb into my arms.

Previously published in the North Carolina Poetry Society's
Pinesong: Awards 2004. Used with the poet's permission.
NOTICE: The poem on this page is copyright © by the poet.