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October 28, 2004
Twelve Minutes
I like this one:
J.C. Hall
Twelve Minutes
The hearse comes up the road
With its funeral load
Sharp on the stroke of twelve.
I greet it myself,
Good-morning the head man
Who's brought the dead man.
I say we're four only
Still, he won't be lonely.
Being next of kin
I'm the first one in
Behind the bearers,
THe black mourning wearers.
(A quick thought appals:
What if one trips and falls?)
They lay him safely down,
The coffin a light brown.
Prayers begin. I sit
And let my mind admit
That screwed-down speechless thing
And how another spring
His spouse was carried here.
Now they're remarried here
And may be happier even
In the clean church of heaven.
We say the last amen,
A button's pressed and then
To canned funeral strains
His dear dead remains,
Eighty-four years gone by,
Sink with a whirring sign.
I tip and say goodbye.
I was the only one in the class who thought this was a particularly good poem. Others said it had a Dr. Seuss-like rhyme. That is one of the qualities I like. The utter simplicity of the rhyming couplet adds to the irony of the ritualistic funeral procession. I love it.
------
Quote of the Day:
"What could be worse than dropping the casket?" asked a student.
"Dropping the casket, slipping, and falling into the grave," replied my prof, matter-of-factly.
Posted by Megan at October 28, 2004 11:59 PM
Comments
I think it's funny that you, Laura and I are all taking downer classes this semester. You write about death with a prof whose grading probably makes you wish you were dead at times; I have my death class to learn ALL ABOUT death; Laura is completely immersed in Dracula and has almost been convinced that we're all sucking the life out of her. Or maybe it's just funny because of the senioritis thing and I want more than anything to be out of here...
Posted by: Kristin at October 29, 2004 01:27 AM
so once, my brother was a pallbearer, except my uncle was huge, so there were like ten of them. he was one of the guys on the end, and not that he dropped the casket or anything, but he did slip and almost fall into the grave. my poor mother was horrified for a moment, thinking he was going to fall right in. who knew that actually happened.
Posted by: Angie at October 29, 2004 06:58 AM
once again your teacher comes through with exactly the right response. :)
Posted by: paul at October 29, 2004 10:14 AM