The Dead Show

I sat keeping score

My butt getting sore

And another more

And another more

Caskets lined up neat

Covers over the feet

Flowers on either side

For just ten minutes, abide

Mother said

For the dead

Cause they could not speak,

Only shriek

From inside their beds

Heavy as lead

White lights overhead.

Another gone

Laid flat on the lawn

For all to see

The first three

They didn’t phase me

As I was young

Too interested in having fun

Mud on the palms

Reading psalms

Kissing boys

Losing toys

Too little to know

About the dead show

Occurring too often

Myriads of coffins

Advertised out front

So blunt

Here lies the late

We’ve set the date

So neat, so fine

A perfect shrine

Mortuary displays

Held my gaze

Through the phase

The haze

The days

When everyone was dying