Final Ride

A live service for a dead friend
I attended at St. Cornelius
He lay motionless as the slo-mo
procedures were conducted
by barely-breathing old colleagues
ready to join him after the show

They read us about Christ and the Dead Sea
A boy yawned and a baby cried
breathing life into half-dead mourners
The cleric with the high hat closed
stirred and closed his eyes then mumbled
lines that faded into lifeless words

It was a farewell to our friend
impatient for his final ride

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I like the realistic atmosphere you've described. VI
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Done march 3