Requiem

                         Many years ago my mother said

                         be careful when you cross the street

                         never trust a friend

                         respect your enemy she said

                         he is up front

                         beware the lazy lizard

                         who sits asleep inside

                         the embers now glowing within

                         are always ready to ignite

                         this is what my mother said

                         My father sat and listened

                         his bed was a rocking chair

                         His eyes were a vacant stare

                         the only sound was the creak

                         of that eternal chair

                         one day he looked at me

                         I thought he was about to speak

                         with a grunt he died

                         my mother wrapped him tenderly

                         in a tattered linen shroud

                         The moral  is there one?

                         never mind the wheres and whys

                         it is better to have lived and died

                         at least in part

                         and for those who never lived

                         those unborn mysteries I shall never know

                         greetings and a sad farewell

                                                         Jack Mashman