Tombstone Tales

Through graveyard meandering, just me and Dad stories sad abbreviated down to mostly names and dates So we tell their stories by turns like poor Duane Dinwiddie died at age thirty-three of bee sting allergy So tragic how she caught a chill Angeline age nineteen who died before her wedding day, her groom grieves still Or the war heroes, Frank and Finn taken in the prime of life, no child or wife, they were just children themselves Gunther Gold did what he was told gullible on a dare lost his life to win respect bullies didn't care Bartleby hypochondriac cough, sneeze, hack was ignored by the whole village, but he got them back- with plague Len Kramer the lion tamer tried to save his wife when she unwisely came in, but- got eaten instead Philetus on flying trapeeze an ace- the very best until he had to sneeze- then sadly laid to rest Then Daddy looks at me and I look at him giving in to sudden gales of laughter glad to be alive (NOTE: Although I listed this as a Free Verse, it is actually in Shadorma form...)