Lovely Bones

When I was little my favorite gerbil, Silky, died. He had lived a very long time for a gerbil. I dug a hole in the backyard and buried him in the ground under the white pine tree. About ten days later I started to uncover him, expecting to find a clean white skeleton I could show to my friends. I was horrified instead to reveal the matted, wet fur of an intact corpse. I screamed, jumped up, and ran away trembling. I felt so much shame for years over this. I felt that I had violated the privacy of my favorite pet, cheating him out of a dignified death and decay. Only years later did I realize that it was alright to have wanted a beautiful white skeleton of lovely bones. I just needed to wait a lot longer.