BUYING UNDERWEAR FOR THE DEAD

Prepping their father’s body for the passage

his daughters gathered his

Necessities

Glasses

Dentures

but not his underwear

--Having spent his last years in diapers

he had none

so they made a pilgrimage to Walmart

& bought him seven pair of XXX white jockies

You know something women might think of

His widow sat beside me at the funeral home

viewing the casket

They gave him a smile she said

& worried that his 6-foot-6 frame looked a little cramped

Home

Smile

Cramped

& then she told me his last words before he fell into the coma

He spoke of preparing for a camping trip

making reservations hitching up the trailer

Trip

Reservations

Hitching

& then he said

“I’m thinking of signing myself out”