gently they stir, gently rise

The dead are newborn awakening

With ravaged limbs and wet souls

Gently they sigh in rapt funeral amazement

Who called these dead to dance?

Was it the young woman learning to play the ghost song on her baby grand?

Was it the wilderness children?

Was it the ghost god himself, stuttering, cheering, chatting blindly?

I called you up to anoint the earth

I called you to announce sadness falling like burned skin

I called you to wish you well

To glory in self like a new monster

And now I call you to pray