Dress Rehearsal

Not cruel enough to snuff them out
She gave up smoking long ago
Paid to hang around and watch them burn
Attends to them till the smoke runs out
Licks the ashtray sterile, clinically
Moves the ashes to the urn

Morbid reflections in mirrors
It's just a dress rehearsal
She nurses people to their death
Attends the funerals

Not cruel enough to toss them out
She keeps them in a window box
Attends to them as they wither away
Speaks in glowing admiration
Self-satisfaction in the changing
Of the water in their vases everyday

Morbid reflections in mirrors
It's just a dress rehearsal
She nurses people to their death
Attends the funerals

She gave up burning long ago
Beauty fades in a window box
With every little piece of life she takes
Samples hors d'oeuvres at memorials
Sits in etiquette so proper
Quietly attendant at the wakes

She nurses people to their death
Attends the funerals
Morbid reflections in mirrors
It's just a dress rehearsal

 © John Kennan 3-29-14