Filling in for a Friend at the Funeral Home

"You'll have to try
And stay out of the way
Kiddo, I know
This ain't you're gig, so
I'm gonna take it easy on ya
Since ya took it on such
Short notice
Just make sure things
stay neat and don't be
Drinking on the job
Not in plain view at least"

Old,
Middle-class
Bastards
In neat suits
Strangled by
Patterned ties
Passing by
Reflections
In the polished
Wood And death
Is understood

I imagine

" I hate
To say
This now,
But this
Really is such
A lovely
Home,
Such an
elegant
Place
To rest
One's weary
Bones
( Thinking )
After life
is death
And death's
Dim Repose
Once the curtains
Close and the
end of
this sad tragedy
turns
out to be a kind
Of comic show"

Hat in hands
Head hung low
Lips held close
To the ear
And a few
Whispered words
To comfort
The blue dame
Dressed in black

"To tell you the truth, I
Never liked the guy,
But still it's such a shame
That a good guy like him
Had to die,
Life's too cruel
Sometimes,and I"

Their pensive eyes
Were stiff
As dead men

Cold
As frozen fruit

By Paul Drummond
( Paul, a 27 year old journeyman, currently resides in Clifton, Maine.
He has been writing for three years.His influences include;
Anne Sexton, Charles Simic, Paul Levine and his wife to name a few.)