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Funeral for a Friend
by Tony WhitakerBury me not in the cool red clay
That mellow earth of my native state
Stand not upon some neat cut grass
Watered by your wasted tears
My wish for a funeral is a simple one
Friends and families gather for fun,
Play some tunes, sing some songs
Sip some suds, whatever you choose
Inter me not amid that crop,
Harvested from some far away spot,
Those cold and gray granite blocks
Where names are blurred by all the years
Of mold and moss and relentless rain
Then no one is left to feel the pain
For all, one day, the reaper will arrive
Since no one here gets out alive
So turn my soul-less ship to dust
Slip it into some simple cup
Where those, who wish, can come and watch
As wife and children take it up
Where I found love and lonesome thoughts,
Upon that magnificent mountain top
The Watchtower there on Hanging Rock
So when I leave this planet Earth
A special place where souls are birthed
Watch my dust in the wind rise high
Mourn not when this worn out body dies
My spirit flies to paradise
11/20/2008 Posted on 11/20/2008
Copyright © 2010 Tony Whitaker
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 11/20/08 at 02:15 PM Your writing has gone to another level in these last couple of poems, imho. This is terrific. |
| Posted by Sandy M. Humphrey on 11/20/08 at 02:26 PM My friends laugh at me when I say, play this song at my funeral or I heard you can be creamated and put into fireworks, and have poets and circus elephants...in otherwords celebrate the life you lived for the life you go to is paradise. smh. |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 11/20/08 at 03:03 PM ...yes, as C.S. Lewis said. "...it's as it should be." nice rendition of Rock o' Ages, eh? |
| Posted by George Hoerner on 11/20/08 at 03:06 PM Tony such a simple yet stirring piece. It is very nicely done sir. It is the way I'd like to be remembered if at all. |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 11/20/08 at 03:06 PM Hey Tony. High marks all across, this is excellent. Death really is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives. And to know where one is bound for, the true blessing! Thanks.
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| Posted by Delilah Coyne on 11/21/08 at 09:53 PM I love the flow of this piece. Beautifully written. |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 07/21/09 at 02:03 PM I find so much freedom at different levels in this poem. Freedom from over attachment to "this old body," freedom from regret, freedom to live beyond, freedom to love the survivors. Wonderful poem, Tony.... particularly meaningful in terms of my recent loss. |
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