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| Early morning, Dominican Republic |
“Funerals: A confluence of past, present, and future”
Funerals are those events we attend to pay
respects to the family, knowing
they are inevitable in all our lives.
Most that I go to are upbeat and peaceful,
full of passion, laugher, tears, happy vibes,
revelations, a few surprises in stories,
and a sense of humanity and healing.
Children give remarks about the goodness
of their parents, stories of birds, fishing,
them coming to every game and event,
funny sayings that they shared,
and other memories that usually draw
laughter, sometimes surprises, and tears
from both the speaker and the audience.
Talented children and grandchildren sing
lovely and poignant hymns or songs,
some they wrote for this occasion,
on guitars, pianos, cello, violins, and flutes.
Outside in the foyer, delightful old photos,
paintings, drawings, cool memorabilia
and a PowerPoint presentation loops
through the life of the deceased.
We all stop and watch, mesmerized
with the changes over time, knowing
these same changes are happening
in our own lives, more quickly than we want.
As we sit in the pews, our eyes focused
on the front where the casket waits
patiently to be transported somewhere
close by to an open grave surrounded by turf,
we wonder to ourselves what our funerals
will be like, what our families, friends,
and speakers will say about us,
what hymns or songs will be played or sung
or what stuff our children will drag out and showcase.
Perhaps, we shouldn’t worry
so much about that as we should worry
about how we are living today,
right now, and change anything
that might startle the mourners at our funerals.
Funerals are those events we attend to pay
respects to the family, knowing
they are inevitable in all our lives.
Most that I go to are upbeat and peaceful,
full of passion, laugher, tears, happy vibes,
revelations, a few surprises in stories,
and a sense of humanity and healing.
Children give remarks about the goodness
of their parents, stories of birds, fishing,
them coming to every game and event,
funny sayings that they shared,
and other memories that usually draw
laughter, sometimes surprises, and tears
from both the speaker and the audience.
Talented children and grandchildren sing
lovely and poignant hymns or songs,
some they wrote for this occasion,
on guitars, pianos, cello, violins, and flutes.
Outside in the foyer, delightful old photos,
paintings, drawings, cool memorabilia
and a PowerPoint presentation loops
through the life of the deceased.
We all stop and watch, mesmerized
with the changes over time, knowing
these same changes are happening
in our own lives, more quickly than we want.
As we sit in the pews, our eyes focused
on the front where the casket waits
patiently to be transported somewhere
close by to an open grave surrounded by turf,
we wonder to ourselves what our funerals
will be like, what our families, friends,
and speakers will say about us,
what hymns or songs will be played or sung
or what stuff our children will drag out and showcase.
Perhaps, we shouldn’t worry
so much about that as we should worry
about how we are living today,
right now, and change anything
that might startle the mourners at our funerals.
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| Towering Redwoods |
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