Before I Am Dust

by Robert Nersesian

Before I am dust

let me pay the bills

and polish the silver.

Leave this house of cards broom-swept.

Attend to all disputes,

douse the embers, whittle the truth.

Instruct where to take my bones,

the verses to chant,

how to sing my empty praises.

Pick the strong men to carry me on

and comfort the lambs of the flock.

Prepare me for darkness, shower me with light.

empty my conscience, my sins, my delight.

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Robert Nersesian attended the Yale Drama School and New York University School of Business. His essays have appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post; short stories in Ararat Magazine, Bewildering Stories, and 101 Words; poetry that has been published or is slated to appear in Poetica Review, Eunoia Review, Valiant Scribe, OpenDoor Magazine, Ekstasis Magazine, the Penn Journal of Arts & Sciences, Libre Magazine, Rue Scribe, and Haikuniverse; and drama in Review Americana. His "Prayers in the Dark" were published by Solid Food Press in June 2024. He lives in Washington, DC.