by Julia Griffin

“Future of Borges estate in limbo as widow doesn’t leave will… ‘If there really is no will, it’s surprising,’
said Santiago Llach, a writer who is a specialist on Borges’ work.”
—AP News

Is there no will for JLB?
Not, maybe, in the world we see,

But students of fantastic maths
Will sense a site of forking paths.

Take One and you will find a box
Equipped with neither key nor locks.

Down Two, two wills await: both claim
The other is a hoax, or game.

The Third leads to a coded will,
Defeating all decoders’ skill.

The Fourth reveals a lawyer’s cable:
SEARCH IN THE LIBRARY OF BABEL.

What lurks down Five should foster fear:
A testamentary “Zahir.”

Six has a will that’s clear (please note it):
Alas, it seems Cervantes wrote it,

But Seven’s should alone suffice.
It never says the same thing twice.