Necropolitan

By Scott Cairns b. 1954 Scott Cairns

Not your ordinary ice cream, though the glaze

of these skeletal figures affects

the disposition of those grinning candies

one finds in Mexico, say, at the start of November,

though here, each face is troublingly familiar,

exhibits the style adopted just as one declines

any further style—nectar one sips just as he

draws his last, dispassionate breath, becomes

citizen of a less earnest electorate. One learns

in that city finally how to enjoy a confection,

even if a genuine taste for this circumstance

has yet to be acquired, even if it is oneself

whose sugars and oils now avail a composure

which promises never to end, nor to alter.

Source: Recovered Body (George Braziller Inc., 1998)

Biography

Scott Cairns was born in Tacoma, Washington. He received his B.A. from Western Washington University, his M.A. from Hollins College, an M.F.A. from Bowling Green State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Cairns has taught at numerous universities including University of North Texas, Old Dominion University, and the University of Missouri. He was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 2006.

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