A State of Confused Happiness

In their red and black
the mourners are moving their bodies
to the sound of happy dirges.
The men and women in cloth gyrate their waists
to the rhythm and melodies made for the occasion.
Onlookers applaud with smiling faces
While the others respond in cheer and jeer.
But a while ago they were all drenched
in tears of sorrow
As they said their final goodbyes
to the departure of the visitor who had been with them for 70 years.

He had been the father who couldn’t be lived without
and the mother who helped bring up the children
He will be missed for being the pillar of the society in which he came
The daughters of the land shall wish she never had to go
for she was the Sarah to whom they were to aspire
But now that the hosts have said their final farewell
It’s time to make merry to dry the tears of loss,
At least until memories of them fade completely.
So for now, it’s time to stomp our feet to rhythms of confused happiness
While the visitor lies silently in the vault; eternally.