What does it say

What does it say

When a man has been

To more funerals than weddings

The gap will soon grow wider

As the age of Aquarius

Might sound peaceful

But death still walks among us

Weeding out the old

Stealing young ones before their time

The undertaker is never short of work

Vying with estate agents for

Having the most

Names on the high street

If you discount charity shops

Which have sprung up nationwide

A bit like a rash

However,

Say what you will

Their cause is just

So it is harsh to judge

The worth of their existence

Coffee shops are market leaders

In refurbishing failed retail outlets,

Selling flowers, homeware

And books with coffee and smashed

Avocado on toast

There is a town in Cornwall

That refuses to allow a ‘Costa Coffee’

On their main street

A big win for the little guy

Do crematoriums ever close?

Never on a Sunday

The puff of smoke

A regular addition to the sky-line

Does it change colour

Depending on the piety

Of the individual

In the manner of a Papal Enclave

It is always so quiet

Even in the middle of a city

As if all of the sound has been

Sucked up out of the air

Leaving an open space for the grief

To expand into

Heavy is the heart

Weighted with the sorrow

Of a true love’s passing

A child’s journey

Ended

Before it has begun

Too many die too soon

Too many funerals in summer

When the sun is shining

As if it is trying to show

The bright side of life

One more time

Before darkness closes in

Around the mourners in black

Who would rather be at a wedding

Dressed in white

Even in the rain

The food is better

And there is dancing in public

Not out of sight

As the will is read

No matter what is said

Nobody is happy

But there is always deathly silence

It must be an instinctive reaction

An inbuilt fear

Of waking the dead