Touring the homes
of all the dead who have ever lived

Even the ones long gone
burned buried torn down vanished

Wandering halls
Opening rooms

Crossing borders to see
all the places the dead have been

Trying to learn
what it means

to remain present
after the body has gone

It is not something 
I have thought much about

until now
My friends will know me

till they’re gone
My family will pass

as I have passed
Not long now till then

Not long at least compared to 
for example those who lived

and cooked and cleaned
the palace at Knossos

who spoke to me
more than the kings did

who are called
the inhabitants by history

History forgets the cooks
and cleaners

who whisper to you
when you walk the houses

of the dead everywhere
in this world

leaving bones and soot
in piles removed

from where the kings walked
caretakers who have left more importance

behind them for us to listen to
in the ruins of the kings

than the kings
have ever done