Background Information Poem by Rae Armantrout

1


There's a lot going on in
"the"
zombie apocalypse.

But wouldn't she recognize
that her mother
was a zombie?

I mean zombies
are a thing.


2


The last thing she did
was point
to one corner of the ceiling

with a horrified stare.
The nurse called this "a seizure."

As if words
drained experience
of content and continued

to accumulate.

As if words
were sealed containers
stored for safe keeping.


3


The background
is everything

that, for now,
can be safely

ignored