The man has chosen
that he wants his ashes scattered
from the end of the pier

where he used to fish with his buddies.
They’d sit on overturned paint buckets.
Sometimes the waves gusted up

and the hems of his pants got wet and salty.
He liked the gulls that stood on the railing,
all puffed up with sky.

Having made the decision,
he walks at dusk to the end of the pier
and looks out at the sea.

As he turns away, he sometimes gives
a small, happy nod, like a man
thinking yes, I will buy this house.

Copyright © 2023 by Chloe Honum. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on January 26, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.

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“I am fascinated by people’s wishes for their bodies after death. It strikes me as such a personal and intimate thing. I wrote this poem thinking about that decision and the kinds of feelings it can open about desires, memories, places, trust, and connections to the elements.”
—Chloe Honum