when the pen of humans becomes dead, 
clog my esophagus with a lead pipe 

let the rust specks cascade 
and taint the taste of my heart 

keep at it, you hear me? Don’t stop until
my hypotension becomes zero-tension

hack each joint, pluck every tendon
like a child prying at turkey legs on Thanksgiving, 

use your knife to severe at a slight angle
my scalp to my shin to my toes 

shove the sad remnants into a bonfire 
in a 1970s oil drum from an old factory shell, 

smother the sky with smoke 
until dawn’s alarm clock ticks 

finally, dump my ashes into the Allegheny River,
returning to the water where we should’ve stayed