A corpse in the earth
A home for decomposers
Here, a maggot breaks down a middle school snub
There, a grub tears apart the ache of a love lost
The microorganisms decompose every hurt,
every regret, every failure
What remains is love
In the nitrogen, there are kind words
In phosphorus, a melodious laugh
In potassium, a luminescent smile
A tree conjures existence from this love,
and from the sun, the air, and the water
And as the tree grows, its oxygen spreads that love
into the worms and the birds
and those crying for that corpse
