MODERN ARCHAEOLOGY
Modern archaeology’s been around for 100 years, give or take.
When I die, my bones might be preserved for
the future to find. But let’s face it, my chances
are slim: The bodies on Everest will outlast mine.
Yours might be better, if you jump in a peat
bog or swim in amber or climb Everest.
The moment of my birth lies between today and the day
the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death. And that day,
and the day before that, and every day, all we
named and unnamed are sentenced to death, but
in the fossil record, they’ll still class us with King Tut
and the Denisovans and whatever came before
and what comes after, give or take a few hundred thousand
years. How much we make of these little years.
They are nothing at all for me, and for you, the
lucky one, a layer in the rock. Some say
then let’s live, say forget, but I mean to hold
the moment of my death close and worry it
until it shines. They’ll find it and say, What’s this?
And I’ll say, I knew this day would come.
Modern archaeology’s been around for 100 years, give or take.
When I die, my bones might be preserved for
the future to find. But let’s face it, my chances
are slim: The bodies on Everest will outlast mine.
Yours might be better, if you jump in a peat
bog or swim in amber or climb Everest.
The moment of my birth lies between today and the day
the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death. And that day,
and the day before that, and every day, all we
named and unnamed are sentenced to death, but
in the fossil record, they’ll still class us with King Tut
and the Denisovans and whatever came before
and what comes after, give or take a few hundred thousand
years. How much we make of these little years.
They are nothing at all for me, and for you, the
lucky one, a layer in the rock. Some say
then let’s live, say forget, but I mean to hold
the moment of my death close and worry it
until it shines. They’ll find it and say, What’s this?
And I’ll say, I knew this day would come.
Lituo Huang lives in Los Angeles. She is the author of a chapbook of poetry and short fiction, This Long Clot of Love. Her fiction and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in JMWW, Hermine, the VIDA Review, and elsewhere. She is currently at work on her first novel. www.lituohuang.com Twitter: @LituoH