Kharon (or Charon)--In Greek mythology, Kharon ferries the souls of the newly dead in a boat across the River Styx in the Underworld.

oaken shores--Oakland, once home to the world's largest coastal oak forest and site of the Ghost Ship Warehouse fire which killed thirty-six during a music show on December 2, 2016.

trans--transgender. Three of the victims were transgender, including the poet Em B.

When news spread of the Ghost Ship Warehouse fire, friends and family thought I had been killed because I sometimes perform at converted warehouses in Oakland. I had attended a movie in Berkeley that night instead, but several poets and storytellers I know lost their friends in the fire.

As firefighters recovered bodies from the ruins, I conceived of a thirty-six line poem--one line for each victim--which reflected the loss my region feels. I work three miles from the Ghost Ship and visited the memorial outside of it to pay my respects and get ideas. Mourners' mementos referenced lost treasures--lives--and shipwrecks. I wrote my poem that evening. I will perform my poem at fundraisers for the victims.

Photo by author of screaming skull mural in front of the Ghost Ship warehouse.

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