It’s comforting to see it on the home altar, swaddled in a rosary.
You’ll call the priest when you have time for a small ceremony.
He’ll at least have a script to follow.
You’re not sure what to tell your kids.
You’re about to go on vacation.
You’ll do it after Easter, the season of resurrection.
You’re pregnant again.
You’re embarrassed that you still haven’t called the priest.
The ground is too dry—it’ll rain again soon.
It just rained.
You don’t have a marking stone, and there should be a marking stone.
None of the marking stones on Etsy look right.
It’s almost All Souls Day, and you might as well leave it on the home altar.
It gets dark so early.
The new baby is about to be born.
The new baby is here.
It’s Lent again—you’ll do it after Easter.
The priest has left, and you don’t want to explain to the new priest.
You still don’t know what to tell your kids.
You still don’t know what script to follow.
You still don’t have a marking stone.
Someday you’ll move and strangers will get rid of the marking stone.
No one has asked you, “What’s in that bag?”
The ground is too dry—it’ll rain again soon.
You’re not ready.
You’re not ready.
You’re not ready.
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Megan Stolz’s writing explores loss, relationships, and spirituality. Her poetry has recently appeared in Two Thirds North, Better Than Starbucks, jmww, and others. She studied creative writing at the University of Baltimore and Hollins University. A Californian, she lives in the Washington, DC, suburbs with her family.