Join the conversation
Subscribe to Our Emails
Boston Review is a public space for the discussion of ideas and culture. Sign up for our newsletters and don’t miss a thing.
Sep 1, 2011
Share:
In ancient times they used every part
from the kill. Occasionally and for lack
of a better purpose, the deltoid flap
was worn like a three-cornered hat.
When my grandfather died
they came for his kidneys, cut out
his liver and lungs. The rest we split
amongst ourselves. We left
the room remarkably adorned.
Yesterday (how embarrassing!)
I saw a woman with the same outfit
as mine. She was hunched and daubed
with crematorium dust,
shielding herself from the rain.
While we have you...
...we need your help. Confronting the many challenges of COVID-19—from the medical to the economic, the social to the political—demands all the moral and deliberative clarity we can muster. In Thinking in a Pandemic, we’ve organized the latest arguments from doctors and epidemiologists, philosophers and economists, legal scholars and historians, activists and citizens, as they think not just through this moment but beyond it. While much remains uncertain, Boston Review’s responsibility to public reason is sure. That’s why you’ll never see a paywall or ads. It also means that we rely on you, our readers, for support. If you like what you read here, pledge your contribution to keep it free for everyone by making a tax-deductible donation.
September 01, 2011