Not Worthy

The New York Times won’t publish
All the wedding news it gets.
Unless you are “acceptable,”
They’ll send you their regrets.

With attributes like wealth or fame
Or Ivy League degrees,
The Times may run your story,
But there are no guarantees.

I’ve always know this as a fact
But recently I’ve learned
That even in obituaries,
Some folks will get burned.

There isn’t space enough, they say,
To honor all who’ve died;
So only certain folks deceased
Deserve their place inside.

An influential person,
Or one “offbeat,” even “quirky,”
Will trump an ordinary guy
For reasons somewhat murky.

And so a woman from the west,
Who sculpted cows from butter,
Received her dose of fame while others
Got tossed in the gutter.

A local businessman who was
A veteran and giver
And art collector didn’t have
The goods he could deliver.

The obit writer at The Times
Did let the family know.
“Of course his life was worthy,”
But his story’s not a go.

My husband promised when I died
I’d make The Times – “Don’t sweat it.”
But now I realize there’s no way,
So he should just forget it.

It seems some people count for more.
There is a great divide;
But somehow that should be erased
When someone’s up and died!