The Color of Death
her skin chips off
around the arms like seashells
then darkens
just above the ankles…
a hundred years on the stretcher
*
I visit after the stroke
and hear a knelling—
half of her body
silent gold dust,
the other half a silky sorrow
Sergio A. Ortiz is the founding editor of Undertow Tanka Review. He lives in San Juan Puerto Rico. He is a four-time nominee for the 2010-2011 Sundress Best of the Web Anthology, and a two-time 2010 Pushcart nominee.