The dead are the easiest of subjects

eventually. Their deaths are the most

matter of fact instantly.  For, whether

naturally (with a little sigh) or

violently (by nail, rope, then reeling

chair), sent into oblivion, they take

at least two people’s breaths away. Once there –

heaven or nowhere – they may be conjured

and, at first, seem to insist upon it:

his voice, her wit.  Soon (a month or a life),

they become tractable and may be shaped

into keepsakes – leaving behind such a

banal desolation.