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“A Celebration of Life!”
- Family request

It’s great to be unconscious!
When you never feel a thing,
all kinds of stuff can happen:
you can laugh and dance and sing,

be cheerful, bright and smiling -
completely unaware
that people might be hurting,
needing tender loving care.

They want a celebration,
words of comfort, words of cheer.
They surely do deserve them,
and that’s what they should hear.

But first, the brutal memories
that brought them here today
have got to be faced squarely
before they’ll go away.

The elephant that’s in the room
will take up all the space
if no-one grabs it by the tusks
and puts it in its place.

So, face your fear, be bold and brave
and say what must be said.
Then maybe tears will turn to smiles
that celebrate the dead.

Norm Murray
March 2021