SICKLY AND DECOMPOSED

by Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal

The dead don’t take good care
of themselves.
On earth
they appear lost.
They are too frail
to turn doorknobs.
In ghost form
wind blows them away
like smoke.

The dead don’t feel embarrassed
when they appear
sickly
and decomposed.
When they go to bed,
they dream
of being alive.
But their dreams
never come true.