Valley of the Dead - Nicole Dollanganger

The ghosts of the palliative care ward have been following me

Whispering through the clear plastic lining over their dead bodies

Their diapers and their feces still on the hospital sheets

They’re dead but they’re still up walking around

And they say to me

«Death is pretty sweet»

We’re in the Valley of the Dead

Cremated bodies in the air

And the rotten ones underneath

Where we harvest the food we eat

I’m not scared of death because death’s all over me

I’ve been spending my time hanging out in hospital wards

Bringing flowers and love letters to my quadriplegic baby

The ache of his colostomy bag and his blood transfusions

His medication makes him so sleepy

But he still whispers to me

«Death is pretty sweet»

We’re in the Valley of the Dead

Bodies turn to liquid in the heat

The particles crawl into our pores

And they soak into our wooden floors

I’m not scared of death because death’s all over me

I’m not scared of death because death’s all over me