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35 Iconography A yellow colonial with dark green shutters, the skin of the cheek when kissed, lightly stubbled, the dark-brown pipe and the cherry-soaked tobacco. The deep laugh rumbling, breaking into cackle, the coin-etched tumbler with a slice of lime, the gin: Beefeater? Schweppes tonic. Contains quinine. A pillow for the back. No pipe. Scent of tobacco. Blank space on the couch. No Hee Haw on TV. It would be better not to see him now. The dorm phone rings. We’ll pick you up tomorrow. Boyfriend declines: You know how I am about death. Humanities prof: There’s lots of folkore at funerals. A body wasted. The casket politely closed, the family gather around the black and white photo in a yellow colonial with dark green shutters. A grown son weeps and weeps on his daughter’s shoulder. The widow in crocheted dress, blue tinged green-gray. The tiny grandson lost in the limousine. Only the best. Marble, next to his parents. The glossy box slides gently onto its stand. The skin of the cheek not kissed, we likely stumbled. ...

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