Death Attendant

Death Attendant After reflections on his dear dead gone The grave attendant sang no more Lingering sad by the hole he dug A hollow reminder of those who expired He set aside his spade to cry Laid his head on the molding tombstone So much like him in his morbid mood Cold, wet, exposed to marble death to rest Calm resignation fills in long hours Humanity, lunacy, transforms the doomed Sinks to new depths as he laughs at the moon Under its light no names etched on the tombs Last of the family members buried beneath the lawn No new markers, burial rites or songs for them Church plots are fewer since the congregation dwindled Religion and sinners have all died off Withered too soon he figured In the sign of the cross the old man and grave become one and the same Gravity holds him in its embrace un-blessed No one left to fill in the holes for future guests Who will replace him after he breaks the boundary Or lead the way down to the concrete crypt He turns up right into the night Takes a deep breath with all his might Before he takes his life Light pure perplexity dawns with enlightenment But came too late. He's dead One more death attendant left unattended