In Memoriam for Kevin Z. A Homeless man who died in autumn.
He lay in his box at last
traces of the heroin that killed him
mixed with the chemicals that make dead flesh look alive.
Surrounded by those who both feared and loved him in his addiction,
now they mourn him in the middle of photos from his first Christmas
and standing next to a pretty girl in a prom dress.
He's quiet now and ready for the earth.
He was twenty-four and the girl he died with carries his baby,
and the baby lays in the womb at last
with traces of the heroin that killed his father,
the chemicals that make live flesh look dead.