That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once

The psychopomp beckoned...

sovay   (who is rightly the poetry editor) asked me for a poem for  The Deadlands, a new "monthly speculative fiction magazine, exploring all aspects of Death and the borders it shares with the living."  So I wrote one.  Or rather, I said at once that I'd love to, but I can't write poetry.  Then toward dawn, I switched off the light and and the first lines happened.  This is vanishingly rare:  you will probably see more spectres in your lifetime than published lyric poetry by me.  My last effort was in 1994.

I join a company of spirits.  So far, the contributing poets with me are M.J. Cunniff, Shweta Narayan, s.j. bagley, Romie Stott, Marissa Lingen, Mike Allen, R.B. Lemberg, Jeannelle M. Ferreira, Gwynne Garfinkle, Zin E. Rocklyn, Gemma Files, Erik Amundsen, Mat Joiner, Leah Bobet, C.S.E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, and Bogi Takács. As sovay   has just written, "These are people who know from ghosts, grief, bones, and boundary-crossing."

Besides sovay  , the sextons are Sean Markey, Elise Tobler, David Gilmore, Brandon O'Brien, and Cory Skerry,

Pomp needs circumstances, so give here to see the undead rise and walk.

Mourners, you can make this happen!

Nine