How a coroner can peel back skin and hair, saw open the calvarium to reveal the brain, lift it to the scale and tape measure. Make a standard Y incision to enter the organ-filled cavity, snip and inspect each piece. Extract fluids. Send samples to the lab or examine them under a microscope. All to determine cause of death. Sometimes a bullet only grazes the skull and it’s the heart attack that’s fatal. Sometimes a drug addict doesn’t die from the drug but from an aneurysm. The body can have a surprise ending. She was surprised by her friend’s death. How a neighbor saw the front door propped open—unusual—walked toward the trailer calling, found her hanging. When she leapt off the dining room table—was there a moment of regret?
graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in English. She is a member of two writing groups, Voices and North. She’s served on the board of Friends of Poetry for the past five years and is currently Vice President of the Poetry Society of Michigan. Her work has been published in a number of small journals. She likes rocks and has bowls and platters and glasses of them all over her house.
