Scatter Me

This poem was written in response to the Rattle® Poetry Ekphrastic Challenge for July 2025 and was ultimately not selected. You can find more information here.

https://www.rattle.com/ekphrastic/

Scatter Me

Unrolled from the safety deposit box

Your last will and testament

The lawyer read:

“It is my final wish for my wife to spread my ashes in all the places that had meaning to us. There, I will forever rest in beautiful memories.”

The document was given to me

And handwritten below

A long list of locations

That would surely break my heart

It began:

• In Key West - where against a tropical sunset, I slipped a ring on your finger

• In Sequoia National Park - where on our honeymoon, we tried to wrap our arms around the tree trunks

• In Wisconsin - where on our yearly family camping trip, we taught our kids to fish

• In the Smoky Mountains - where on our 30th anniversary, we hiked part of the Appalachian Trail

• In Arizona …, In Alaska …, In New York …

• In Paris …, In London …, In Tokyo …, In Cairo …, In Rio …

• At the Taj Mahal …, At Chichen Itza …, At Stonehenge …

-

And so I did

-

I sprinkled you into the forest floor

And across prairies

From the tops of mountains

To the valleys below

The ocean waves washed over you

Mixing you into the sand

From desert dunes to arctic ice

I watched the river currents carry you away

-

And every handful of you

That I let go to the wind

Took a heart-full of me

Along with it

Now, having traveled the world over

There is nothing left to either of us

Submitted under MRB