The Taped Hammer
The teenage boy set the hammer on top of the casket of my cousin Bobby, and the duct tape on the handle, gray and gummy with age, caught the light …
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The White Shirt
The man in the three piece suit stopped at the edge of the open grave with the white shirt held in both hands, still in its dry cleaner plastic, perfectly …
The White Shirt Read MoreThe Number One Mug
The little old woman in the church hat set the coffee mug on top of the casket of my father, and the faded letters on the side read, in red, …
The Number One Mug Read MoreThe Cedar Paddle
The old man with the white beard laid the paddle across the chest of my grandfather, and the Lutheran church fell completely silent, so that I heard the radiator knocking …
The Cedar Paddle Read MoreThe Cracked Plate
The young nurse stood at the head of the casket of my uncle with the cracked license plate held in both hands, her own name written across the top in …
The Cracked Plate Read MoreThe Lunch Tray
The man in the white chef coat laid the dented aluminum tray on the casket of my mother, and the plastic wrap on top of it crinkled. He was a …
The Lunch Tray Read MoreThe Shoeshine Box
The priest set the shoeshine box down at the foot of the casket, and the lid, with its carved initials, caught the light. He was a heavyset man of perhaps …
The Shoeshine Box Read MoreThe Christening Gown
The old woman in the church hat stopped at the casket of my great aunt with the little gown held over both arms like an offering. She was perhaps eighty …
The Christening Gown Read MoreThe Janitor Keys
The woman in the navy uniform held the ring of keys against her chest, and the poem my sister had been reading from her phone died in the air. She …
The Janitor Keys Read MoreThe Silver Tray
The old man in the wheelchair stopped at the foot of the casket of my grandmother, and the organist let the last chord of Precious Lord fade into silence. He …
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