Let the funeral be like a dinner party
Aunties and uncles flitting to and fro
Offering you the same seat or the same sweets
While you strain to recall every name
And look engaged while you tell the same story

Let it be like a dance party
Where we all get up and down on cue and sing along for certain tunes --
It opens up the heart, not to mention the lungs, and the hips (better to sit through the long prayer)
And some struggle to recall the words but we agree not to notice

Let it be like a graduation party
Where we all celebrate the wrong accomplishments, somehow, and speak of what's to come
Young and old mingle and some get emotional
And flowers are brought and my friends recall different versions of the same story
And they wear that pained face and say they did their best, and always stuck together

And let the funeral be like a baby shower
With traditions sprung on you by elders who've done one before
Chattering in circles around you, making remarks and such, and giving news of far-flung relatives
Where many who sat where you will sit, my dear, will give advice on how to feel
And say, Everything will turn out fine