My Favorite Devonshire

Mimes at my Funeral When my time is done and I am finally laid to rest I don’t want to be recalled as one who lived life depressed So as I wrote my will, I chose to leave some instructions That laughing gas be inhaled by all those at the function No mournful eulogies will a pastor have to invent For my funeral will be held under a circus tent When dozens of clowns emerge from the tiny Volkswagen Reams of my silly limericks Bozo will be dragin’ And as they’re read aloud, family and friends who knew me best Will say, “She had a sense of humor, this we can attest.” Mimes will mimic me trying to write the world’s best novel As my corpse hangs from the trapeze, surely they will marvel Laughter will ensue as they shoot me from the cannon Flying high in my demise across the great Grand Canyon All the children will smile and there’ll be no tears allowed So no one will ever remember me as a “dark cloud” There are people who seem to take life way too seriously When I meet my Maker, don’t view this as a tragedy Dad called me his “happy girl,” so let me go out that way I want to leave them laughing as I reach my judgment day I chose this poem because it captures the way Aunt Carolyn lives her life. Always the prankster, she adds laughter to all family gatherings. And those “silly limericks” are favorites among family members. We tend to take death too seriously. We can’t do anything about it, so why not live it up here and in the hereafter. I’ll let you know if we find her in the Grand Canyon.