My resolution for the new year: purge
pantry of expired products. Discard
five-year-old beans, ten-year-old condiments, 
desiccated Halloween candy.
 
Some expiration predictions exceed
my life expectancy. Made me wonder, 
where’s my expiration date, list of ingredients, 
useful instructions? I’ve looked everywhere. 
 
No dates, QR or bar codes, prompts
for handling, storage, disposal. No warnings 
to reject if seal is broken. Sell by Friday,
consume or freeze by Monday. 
 
Science claims all encoded in DNA.
Too cryptic for easy viewing. Better to
stroll through family cemeteries, read 
stone labels, take notes, calculate averages.
 
The coroner will record my expiration date, 
decode instructions written on remains. Fully 
cooked, handle with care, contains peanuts, 
refrigerate after opening, recycle.