Pre and Post Dia de los Muertos or the Signing of the Will

When I go
I don’t care if I’m wearing a tu-tu and a
Woolen sweater or a flowered flannel gown,
Jeans and a headdress of feathers
When I go
I’ll be somewhere else
Before the ceremony or the service begins.


I’m seeing the attorney tomorrow
For the signing over of the property, the items
To set my departure in the right lane
Past the velvet curtain
To the pulsing red sign that's been blinking
Its ‘exit here’ announcement
From the deepest corner 
Of my memory.

These papers that we’re signing
Will clear the way for singing, for the raising of glasses
Pray to Guadalupe, that she finds me.
Remember me as I’d wish you to, hugging me near.
Me, who will be someone else,
Somehow knowing where to go.

When I go
I’ll be empty as an overturned vase
Dry and safe for a family of spiders
May they mate and multiply inside of me
I’ll be gone before the mood turns to lunch or to the next thing,
Gone before I know it.