The Funeral

The Funeral
..................

In false reverence
they gathered around

Placed their finger
on their foreheads

before doing the
Sign of the Cross

Peering at the
deceased

Lying in his coffin
he seemed to be
at peace

They stared,
The old women
three

In hushed tones
whispering,
quietly

to one another -
professional mourners
they

had attended
many funerals
both by night
and day

Shuffling their
way,
out of the house

Into a misty
evening breeze

They were as quiet
as a mouse

As the undertakers
wheeled
the deceased
away

Picking up the
coffin
and sliding it all the
way

into the back
of the horse-drawn
carriage

They all climbed aboard -
still whispering -

which was a
habit

that they
had

when they were
once
alive

As two mighty
hearse-horses

rode them back
into the mists
of time

To once again
play out that
everlasting scene

Of the three professional
mourners

Of a funeral that's
already
been...



Copyright
(c) 2006
The Funeral
Wayne Leon Learmond
( All Rights Reserved )