Earth-to-Earth

[RSaba]

I'm a fan of this short piece- I think you started it right off the bat with two rather jarring lines. Great imagery. It's hard for me to tell exactly what the 3rd stanza is asking, possibly because it doesn't seem to relate to the piece. But I could be missing something.
These are just the little things that tripped me up. Hope they help.

My mother burned
when I was eight

I watched her skin dance—
a red-and-orange danse macrabre; It's "macabre", although I'm sure that was just a typo. However, if you're going to have a word/phrase that is in a different language, I highly suggest italicizing it. Some might just see it as a mistake, and the italics will make sure the reader knows.
ashes-to-ashes now means
everything to me cool last 2 lines, this theme really ties the piece together- I like the title already, but I would almost prefer "Ashes-to-Ashes."

The thing is—
of distance, age, and time,
which one closed before she expired?

And most nights my pillow smells
of dust-to-dust when I dream
of her shriveling mouth,
and the voice that once sang
me to sleep as a child

Hope those little things help. Great write!