Brook J. Sadler

Brook J. Sadler is a poet and professor of philosophy. Her poems have appeared with the Atlanta Review and Ms. Magazine. She lives in Florida.

Truth in Advertising

Sebastian Errazuriz told everyone in South Beach.
First, he cleared it with the Federal Aviation Authority.
DEATH IS THE ONLY CERTAINTY IN LIFE

He hired a plane to fly his banner, an act of free speech.
He had something he needed to say, so
Sebastian Errazuriz told everyone in South Beach.

It was 2009, and nine/eleven seemed a long time ago.
He first proposed WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE.
The FAA did not approve, perhaps fearing it was a breach

of homeland security. Perhaps they thought it was a lie.
Surely, the National Endowment for the Arts would have let it go.
Anyway, Sebastian Errazuriz told everyone in South Beach.

Bikini-clad women, hands propped as visors, squinted up at the sky.
A child clung to her mother. A man brought his lover within reach.
Swimmers looking up wiped the sea's salt from their eyes.

DEATH IS THE ONLY CERTAINTY was also denied.
But not because of taxes. If you weren't there, still, you should know—
as Sebastian Errazuriz told everyone in South Beach,
DEATH IS THE ONLY CERTAINTY IN LIFE.