Dead Man Poem

Thanks to Victoria I’ve discovered Marvin Bell's Dead Man poems and a prompt at Big Tent Poetry to create my own poem in that style.

1. About How the Dead Man Helps Out Around the House

The dead man can’t handle kitchen appliances.
He'd fast-forward to the days when butter is churned by hand.
There’s no room for the dead man with that infernal whirring motor.
Eight-track tapes on the other hand are his friend.
He unspools their gray-brown ribbons like Christo across the sky.
Billions of old teenagers dreaming, still damp with lust, turn their eyes on
the dead man.

2. More About How the Dead Man Helps Out Around the House

The dead man has no time to clean the cat box.
No flossing or scrubbing sinks for he.
He cannot bear to follow any regular routine.
He’s just no good at that sort of thing.
He’d rather wait around all day until someone remembers him.
He’ll come out then and be the jester for the night.
There’s no wisdom he hasn’t filed away for just this occasion.
He loves to poke at the wounds that kill us, laughing all the way.