John Grey

Providence RI USA

 

 

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Sin Fronteras, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in Plainsongs, Willard and Maple and Connecticut River Review.

Poem completed on 5/9/20

 

STRAIGHT TO THE OBITUARIES

 

You appreciate the fact

that the dead are in alphabetical order.

It makes it easier to find old friends.

 

The accompanying photos

could be a year old,

could be fifty,

typically from the last time

the deceased look good.

 

The causes are mostly

heart failure or cancer,

complications from the flu –

all of the things you fear.

But some die of traffic accidents,

gunfire, falls in the home,

the stuff that happens

to other people.

 

Many times, you see

someone you know

smiling back at you

from the other side,

and you feel both sorrow

and a little pride

that you’ve outlasted them,

despite your drinking

and your smoking.

 

The obituaries

are part of your morning ritual.

It’s where ordinary lives

takes precedence over

what’s happening in the world.

 

The newspaper arrives

and you immediately

thumb through to

the critical headlines.

The real page one

is somewhere in the middle.