This, dear Ida, was my first full night of sleep
Since arriving in Santa Fe. Maria the nurse,

Who I’ve grown quite fond of (though she speaks
Little English), has a Kodak of her own.
                                                               The flash
 
Didn’t wake me. I could have slumbered through Judgment Day.
The evening before—do not be alarmed, my dear—

I coughed two cups of blood into a basin
While Maria propped up my head.
                                                      But then the night terror

Vanished. The sunset turned the light a dusty saffron.
& let me tell you a curious dream: Dr. Weiss

Had wheeled me to a vaulted room. We both had lab coats on.
Under his microscope he lodged the slide. “This

Kingdom lies within,” he whispered—the good tissue muddy brown,
The bacilli a stunning blue
                                           & swift as minnows they swam.

   Contributor’s notes

   Introduction
   Something of Us to Prove Our Afterlife: Notes on “Ochre”
   Table of Contents
   Acknowledgements

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