We had a funeral today
With yelling and waling of tears
There was a death in the family
Black as mourners' cloth worn
Money is no more an object
We have to celebrate this lost life
We had a funeral today, casket crowned
Friday always seems the best days
To defrost the dead and dress them good
A frozen meat laid in state for wake keeping
To see if our dearly departed would wake
From this lumber mood of sleeping dead
Wouldn't that be a sight to be seen
The awaking of the frozen dead
Mourners would cry through the night
And take breaks to have, catch up chats with friends
Old lovers would bring their pretend love to bear
"Oh" they say "I miss him so much" they say
And have time off on sorrowful linger
For the refreshments served
There has been a death in the family
The elders sit to take stock with tired eyes
Quarreling over assets to share before
The dead rot in the ground
Why don't they just burn the dead to ashes
Save him the disgrace of un-visited grave stones
Doubt of the accountant's conflicting figures
Of what donations were given at the funeral
There has been a death in the family
Whose turn is it this time
To be made a fool of, in dead clothes
Lying in state as the joker on parade
The last lines say a lot
ReplyDelete"...in dead clothes
ReplyDeleteLying in state as the joker on parade "---I can feel the pulsing rush of grief in those lines.
Peace.
May God give you and your family the strength to bear the loss..
So much goes on beneath the surface of a funeral, It sometimes seems to bring out the 'ugly' in people. The deceased person, if he/she were to awaken, would cry if he/she knew that so much nastiness abounded on the day his/her life should be remembered and honored. I think this poem of yours, Kodjo, is my favorite of all.
ReplyDeleteOh this resonates. I love the refrain. It enhances the read. Adds a rhythm, too, that I appreciate. There has been so much death in my life it is indelibly shaped how I see life.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up the darker swirl of emotions at play when someone passes away. Yes, some emotions seem truly universal.
ReplyDeleteYou have tackled some very deep questions about death and life in this poem, Kodjo. I think the repeated line is so effective, and gains gravity as the poem continues.
ReplyDeleteinteresting the different perspectives on death...from celebration to sorrow...to contemplation...who is next? none of us know our days...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mary wow you have definitely shed light on the ugliness behind funerals. I am lucky in that my family has never fought over the possessions of the dead
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of emotional underpinnings in this piece--effective and thought-provoking write
ReplyDeleteKodjo, I am so sorry for your loss, and sorry, too, for how the lines resonate with us - under the surface, so much goes on at a time when someone dies. The line that hit home especially, for me, is the elders, sitting quietly with tired eyes. They have seen it all so many times. You wrote this so well!
ReplyDelete