Why was my father wearing a blue formal jacket
when it was so hot? It was summer in Oklahoma
and over a hundred degrees. He wanted to know
where he was. I explained that he could not return
to this world since his body no longer existed.
He seemed relieved. I saw him being cremated
three years before as they played “The Rebirth
of the Phoenix” on rustic trumpets.
I buried his ashes in a white jade box on a mountain.