Loss for Words

I’ve heard the Eskimos
have over a hundred words
for snow.

And as I left
the funeral home
with seven or eight
pounds of her ashes
in a plastic bag
in a black box tucked
inside a thoughtful gift bag
bearing the undertaker’s
business logo,
I wondered if the Eskimos
would indulge me
with a hundred new words
to pinpoint the indescribable
pain that left me speechless
as I loaded her ashes
into the passenger seat
and, as though dreaming,
slowly brought the seat belt
across her.
Ashes.

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