Please, no flowers.
Please, no tears.
But lots of song and lots of beers.
Lots of stories.
Poems, too.
Lots of food and lots of brew.
Dancing, singing,
telling tales.
Some grubby humour!
(Never fails!)
Please, no deadpan morbid faces.
But pictures of some pretty places.
Photos, memoirs, funny hats,
A mini-tramp and soft crash-mats.
Music, circus, people meeting.
People laughing, people eating.
People hugging, people kissing.
Singles mingling (A couple missing!)
Introductions. Old re-unions.
Please, no stuffy church communions.
Please no tales of sad or woe,
just send me off, and let me go.
Coloured outfits; don't wear black.
Jokes and punch-lines. Hacky-sack.
Forget decorum, have some fun.
(Whipped-cream pies; a starters gun!)
Please, no sense of loss or sorrow;
live like there is no tomorrow.
Forget tradition, and social norms,
and religious bunk in all it's forms.
Make it noisy.
Here's a thing;
A six-piece band to make it swing.
Dance and leap, and sing and yell.
Make it rowdy. Raise some hell.
And when you finally wind it up,
Please, raise a glass, or can, or cup,
And toast a life of many joys,
with lots of thrills, and lots of toys.
A life of fun, some wild adventures,
with more court-time than on the benches.
A life explored, a few successes,
a few mistakes, and many messes.
But go home knowing that all the while,
the thing that brought the biggest smile,
were simple things, but things I treasure,
The powerful source of deepest pleasure,
You people here.
My friends and kin.
Who watched me grow or took me in.
My final thanks, and deepest wishes.
Now go, and help wash up the dishes,
or grab the dustpan or a broom.
Sweep up the floor, re-set the room.
Before you leave, please take the time
to share my love, and live this rhyme.
To all those here, please hug and shake,
to bring to end this festive wake.
Go safely, with a happy heart,
and know that you each played your part
in bringing to my life much joy;
I really was a lucky boy.
Now travel well on your chosen path.
My afterlife; your aftermath.
Look after each other until you decease.
And share the love.
And spread the peace.
(c) MrsMyth, TJMcGowan