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“The Death Issue” December 2015 1

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Li Bo Learns the Gentle Art of Disappearing<br />

Steve Klepatar<br />

We watch rabbits in my garden,<br />

how they scurry into brush<br />

at the slightest sound, fur and tails<br />

blending with shade and light.<br />

A mosquito bites his arm, flits<br />

off out of sight before his quick<br />

hand can slap it dead.<br />

As we sip our wine, the sun<br />

disappears slowly, in its showy way.<br />

“Watch,” he tells me, turning<br />

sideways in the growing dark.<br />

I do, and then I see it, how light<br />

bends around his slender form,<br />

how his bald spot deadens streetlamps.<br />

His shadow swells out of night<br />

until all I see is a raised glass,<br />

half full. Then it flickers and falls,<br />

a match held too long by a burning hand.<br />

46

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