No one could give better instructions than Wendy DeGroat does in this poem. Her chapbook Beautiful Machinery was published last year. You can read more about Wendy here.
After the burning’s done, pour
what’s left in a Mason jar—nothing new,
but one washed clean of applesauce or pickled beets,
the clear kind that kids keep fireflies inside.
Let my cinders rest there
like sand art in jelly jars carried home from the fair.
If the small or gray of me unsettles you,
pin flannel or fleece around the glass,
leaving a gap, thumb-wide, under the rim, enough
to let sun and moonlight in. Store me beside the poetry.
When it feels right, talk to me, sing, or sit by quietly.
For a wheel of seasons, take me down. Hold me open—
to campfires, fallen leaves, a lilac’s laden bough.
Press me deep in moss and snow.
When my birthday comes, add a pinch of salt,
toast to us with good bourbon or dark rum.
And when you’re ready to move on, release me somewhere
we once were. As dust blurs through your fingers,
quick or slow, know I miss your touch, and let me go.
– Wendy DeGroat
First published in Rust + Moth
Sarah Russell Poetry 
this was beautiful and powerful –
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Thanks. It’s one of my all time favorites. It’s with my will. I get tears every time I read it.
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What a beautiful piece. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks, Ali. When I read it on Moth + Rust, I copied it for my favorites immediately. I don’t know her other poems, but I have her book on order.
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Just as stunning as it was when you first showed me ages ago. Wow!
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Thanks. I tear up every time I read it. I want this one to stay at the top of the blog roll for much longer than a day.
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If not for your writing this topic could be very conltvuoed and oblique.
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Grace
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Yes. Perfect!
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Fantastic…. what feeling…. a perfect capture of emotions
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Thanks, Bob. Yes, emotion so tightly strung and matter of fact that the reader feels it all the more.
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thank you for sharing this. its heart wrenching but we must celebrate that life by living their last wishes. a very beautiful poem.
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You teared me up, My Dear!!! The Badge of a Great piece!! Thank you for awakening those emotions in my heart!! Deep gratitude!!! Bellissimo!! Thank You!! 🌹🌹😊
xoxoxo
Chuck
xoxoxo
Chuck
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Chuck, I wish I could claim this. It is Wendy DeGroat’s poem. Like you, I cry every time I read it. I’ve put it on the list of what I’d like read at my memorial service.
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Reblogged this on Women Who Think Too Much by Jeanne Marie and commented:
WOW. So beautiful, sad and bittersweet.
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Wendy De Groat is an awesome poet! One of my favorites.
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