delightful

remove yourselves, friends;
take yourselves out of the hall and
pack up the remnants of the day
in the echoing wake of all those condolences.

bind the bouquets with the bunting
of all your will, pocket them
as you leave through the door
and place them somewhere at home.

discard the starched shirts and the
pleated dresses; hamper the clothes
worn in the mists of sorrow and
elation that flowed in the tears.

remove yourselves forthwith;
and go back out into that world
from which the dearly has departed,
that gray-gray world of quandaries.

vacate the omens and the aspersions
of the lesser souls who've played at your
fears and poked at your eyes like
needles of light.

see the after-gone of her as an entry
that leads you beyond the cold
interior of those lousy moments
that once bound you to despair.

and see her blow you a captivating kiss,
or whisper you a fantastic fairy tale,
or sing you a silly song,
or dance you into a temperate light.

fold up the chairs, friends;
remand yourselves to a better place and
skip the receiving lines of hostile
energies so that you can breathe again.

warm-bathe yourself with your lover,
or eat ice cream with the same spoon,
or fold your arms into their soul,
or read great poems to them.

walk along a slender road with your child,
or spray them with words of great zeal,
or swallow their laughter with great gulps,
or cartwheel yourself through their joy.

jar a fistful of errant pennies for your friend,
or nibble on the inner-ear of their victories,
or penetrate their difficult orbit with a burp,
or share with them your favorite flavored happiness.

for the departed has no quarrel,
has no trespassing demons,
has no malignant nights,
has no vanishing days,

and she endeavors to breathe into you
the air of something as surpassing as the stars,
something as fine as euphoria,
something as peaceful as prayer.

so remove yourselves, friends;
take yourselves out of the hall and
pack up the remnants of the day
in the echoing wake of all those condolences.

go home to your lover,
your children,
your friends,
yourself

and be delightful