The Widow’s Last Rites

by Kristine Ong Muslim

After he has clung to the tightening noose
around his neck, she will make sure that he

cannot escape her again. Here’s to the
tongue that laps up the leftovers.

She takes a handful of his ashes from the jar
provided by the crematorium attendant,

crams it into her mouth, savors the bitterness
between gulps of distilled water.