[Adrianna Jurek]

        In America, death is some kind of taboo. We talk about it a lot, but in our  society, we appear to still be conservative. When someone dies, the body is quickly whisked away, only in the presence of loved ones long enough to say a quick goodbye. In other cultures, the body can stay in the home for weeks. We might think it to be disgusting, but what we see in the media about bodies is frequently in TV shows and movies. Perhaps it's a detective discovering a body long dead and decomposed. Maybe someone stumbles upon a body. We are taught this aversion to all things dead.
Even though in this small collection of poems, I make jokes and look at the humorous side of death and some consequences of dying, I think this is a valuable topic to keep talking about. There is a lot of money in death culture, and if we move to take it back, I believe it can be a more rewarding grieving process.
        Life is a relatively simple thing. It is surprisingly easy to die. It is probably equally easy to die by another's hand. This collection of poems explores all aspects of death, like heaven and hell, murder, and even "quiet" deaths and the aftermaths.
        I hope, even if the topic can get dark, that you have some kind of enjoyment while reading. Or not. If there's even a speck of enjoyment, or really, any kind of reaction, I did my job.