The Passing

Solemnity is hanging here,
As well as family members dear;
Candles dimly lit ablaze,
Give the room a smoky haze;
Everyone stares, their thoughts unknown,
At one figure, all alone;
He lies there in his sunken bed,
A pillow supporting his head;
His limbs are weak, his bones are brittle,
His resilience is very little;
The red that in his cheeks did flood,
Is now white with no trace of blood;
His brow, now wrinkled in a frown,
His lips, where spoken word did drown;
The silence, now thick as a cloud,
Becomes so deafeningly loud;
At last a lawyer does come in,
And everyone lights up in sin;
Poor sir, quite soon he will be gone,
But then a new richness will dawn;
And eyes flare up with fiery greed,
The cash? The car? Perhaps the deed?
Who will he pass his fortune to?
With neither son nor mistress too;
Perhaps I, who hardly knew him,
Or Aunt Ethel? Uncle Jim?
The lawyer reads his last request,
A breath is held in everyone’s chest;
“I hereby leave my fortune to…”
There goes Aunt Ethel, “Yes, thank you!”
“But wait, I have not said your name,”
The lawyer says, and Aunt grows tame;
“I leave it to my faithful cat,
So she can grow lovely and fat;
And keep her soft, silky smooth fur,
My everything I leave to her.”
The old man gave a tiny grin,
The sickness finally did him in;
He whispered to us all, “Surprise.”
And that was Grandfather’s demise.