Obituaries

I read the obituaries
And never miss a day.
When someone asks the reasons why,
This is what I say:

Everyone deserves to have
Acknowledgement in print
(Note to my husband –
This is a hint.)

Of a life that’s been lived
And has come to an end;
Sometimes that fact
We cannot comprehend.

I look at their ages
And causes of death,
Many too young
To have breathed their last breath.

I read of the loved ones
They’ve left in their wake,
Some probably hoping
There’s been a mistake.

Many a notice
For someone deceased
Pays homage with feelings
That must be released.

It’s hard to express
In a few simple lines
How a life that is over
Can, with yours, be entwined.

‘Cause no matter how sudden
Each death, or expected,
We’re never prepared
And are caught unprotected.

So we mourn and we grieve
And we publish our sorrow
And hope that the pain
Will diminish tomorrow.

But meanwhile, when strangers
Read paeans to the dead,
We have a small glimpse
Of the life that was led.