To keep death from touching them,
The nurses chatter around the corpse,
Gossiping, joking as they perform
Its last ablution.
The movement of hands is quick and deft
Even as they turn it, palms flat
Against the still-warm back and buttocks
Where the blood is draining to.
They tie the mouth shut,
Fold the arms,
Then swaddle the body in plastic,
(so it won't freezer-burn?)
Attaching a tag to the toe,
Because already he has forgotten his name.
Lillian Susan Thomas
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/wrapping-a-corpse/
