one two three a loop in my head i count my steps to the grave
one two three breaths in a row faltering atlas under a globe of grief
one two three the mortician mutters hitting the lever a box in descent
one two three relatives trail off weaving through the stones
one matriarch in shambles a perfect pietรก lingering by the hollow
two a couple broken separated by the greatest door
three* wails punctuate her sentence goodbye bill Iโll always love you
a play on a common abbreviation of 'i love you,' and my anxious tic of counting a sixty year marriage ended by leukemia and the strongest woman i've ever met in shambles