My daughter brought her bones home
for me to store.
I tried to reason with her

You will need them with you when 
you settle down
when you get a nicer place

They will get gnawed by mice
since the cat you left here 
disappeared last month

I shall worry every night
while you fly about in your ghost body
you might lose the key to the door 

But you never win these arguments with the morose 
You should not have had children then
and I will not have children 

So don’t worry about future bodies
or a war that is slow to end
the worst has already happened

So I put the bones in the bottom drawer
and left my doors unlocked

Michele Worthington