on Gabriel Max’s The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter, 1878

Star-of-Bethlehem, baby’s breath
pink peonies

pitted pots drop, low
wail and clatter

bedclothes crease, rigid
limbs, thinned— snowscape

edge of day and night
slow turn
to stone and space.

A stranger in the house
takes a seat

the emptied table, placed:
hollowed dish and cup

heart beat, then breath:
Little girl, get up

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