First the incense,
then the Pie Jesu.
“His life was a bell,”
the deacon said,
“and the Spirit the clapper.”
(We passed her, pulling the rope.
You rang as we gathered round.)
The sun shone, and in it
I saw your Annie,
hardened but serene
from the long, depleting dying.
And the pine box – yes,
what better wood
to leave the world?
Chris Coppens, R.I.P.
one for your next book
An epitaph of light