The Cremation of Shelley

(from Trelawny)

More wine was poured over
Shelley’s dead body
than he had consumed
during his life. This
w/the oil & salt made
the yellow flames glisten
& quiver.

The corpse fell open
& the heart was laid bare.

The frontal bone of the
skull fell off
and, as the back of the skull rested
on the red-hot bottom bars
of the furnace, the
brains literally seethed,
bubbled and boiled
as in a cauldron,
for a very long time.