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Dead Bodies Make Good Jigsaw Puzzles


It never failed to surprise him, how varying parts
could be fit back into a whole. The interconnectivity
of the universe amazed him. A head from one body,
torso from another, two arms from still one more, and yet
with exact extraction, proper re-stitching, he always ended
up with something complete, something that, from a distance,
appeared practically seamless. A hobby, a practical distraction,
something to do with the extra bits, took on a life of its own,
became obsession. He filled his walls with the best of them,
the most palatable portraits, hung them as personalized art.
He was not exactly a master, yet, but the more he practiced
the more pieces he was able to manage.
Surreal Bodies

They stood in silence
Retching at the smell
Of already rotting flesh
But their eyes
Would not be diverted
Was this a real creature
Or just an illusion
The enormous body
Rejected by an ocean
Where it feared
Very little.

They took photographs
Posing with the corpse
Posted them on line
Wrote 'Look at this!'
Many responses
Included sad faces
There was no explanation
Some feared
Alien intervention
Or evil poisons
Yet there was
No conclusive evidence.

Still they stared
At the surreal
Manifestation
Fumbling
For any kind
Of meaning
Paying no attention
To the smaller bodies
Strewn across
More distant shores
Whose shocking presence
Required little explanation.