Seagulls

My mother, for reasons she never did explain Loved seagulls, and summer's driving heavy rain, When she died early of cancer, Well before she ought And dad and me went to the morticians, A proper coffin that we sought When my father saw one with seagulls emblazoned nicely on the inside, He knew immediately what to get, It was so coincidental, and we almost cried, The funeral came three days later, And a long drive it would be, The length of Long Island, To the national cemetery Now there were only 3 cars in prosession, And we rode behind the hearse, I was mad for such a poor turnout So what could get much worse? But the oddest thing did happen, That morning before our trip, A seagull circling the house, Was I losing grip? Seagulls in downtown Queens, Many miles from the nearest shore In all the years I'd lived there, I'd never seen one there before Now the turnout for the funeral, disappointing as it was, Was more than compensated, By the seagulls flight above.