The Gravedigger's Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

A strange one
But still,
Thanksgiving

A lovely day
A warm day
A day to relax and to enjoy.

An empty house again
An empty nest again
All alone again

Except for God
Of course
Dear God

Pretty good roommate, God
Leaves no messes
Keeps it gently quiet
We get along


But then the call
That damnable call
Why would it have to be today?


The dog
Her dog
My dog
Hers now

Dead


It was an ugly divorce
My lawyer said perhaps the worst he'd ever seen
But it was long over
And The dog I loved

Is dead


So we did it
What must be done
My son and I
We said goodbye

And then we dug a hole
Laid in an old blanket
Put her down into the ground

James, so gently
Arranged her
in a pleasant sleeping pose

And then we covered her

First in blanket
then in earth
And it was done
All done

Tired weary
Sweaty achy
Lean on shovel
Don't say much

Look up to empty blue
Three ravens
Spin in sky

Riding thermals
High high
Up the sky

Fading smaller
Fading smaller
Fade away
One by one

And then one
Alone
Then gone
All done

We've asked it
Since we were proto-chimps
Before we had the words
When the asking
Was just a feeling
That made our bodies ache

Why is this so?
Why must it be?
Why must love always hurt?
Why?


There is no other choice
No alternative is to be had
Without the love
You do not live

The pain is just
The price you pay
The bill come due
For all the joy you had


To live
Is to love
To Love
Is to hurt

That's just the way it is

Later then
The classic feast
The family all around

And it was good
And it was fun
And it was life