Good bye my friend, Michael Beil

The Waiting Room

The death chain starts slowly
with just a fleeting thought before bed time,
but soon dread awareness sinks in
moving on to something more specific-
like a bird,
or maybe a fish.
An elaborate shoe box ceremony
completes the backyard funeral.

Perhaps a dog or a cat came next
and sobbing now
we bury the body beneath a stone.

A distant relative or
a great aunt follows,
someone you might not actually know
lying there in state.

But then a parent
or a friend -
a child or
an unexplained disaster,
suddenly coming on like a storm.
One by one we watch
as they step off the planet
and leave us
wondering
what was that all about?

Down here in a blue room without walls,
we stand alone together,
left behind to wait
for the next number to be called.