When They Analyze Our Funerary Practices

author’s note:

I’ve finally decided on an inscription for my tombstone.  A line from Shakespeare:

“Exit, pursued by a bear.”


WHEN THEY ANALYZE OUR FUNERARY PRACTICES

Millennia from now
archaeologists may deduce
we believed we could
drive our way to heaven

when they uncover that Cadillac casket.

Or when they excavate
the burial mound
of a forgotten ancestor
who apparently thought
that half-ton truck
would transport him
to another realm.

To those prospectors I would say
the assumption you’ve made
is valid in this way:

some of us did indeed try to find paradise
behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Yes, they chose the wrong mode.
But if you are human
I’m sure you’ll understand
the drive that drove them:

that persistent desire
to ascend to bliss.

mythsteps · When They Analyze Our Funerary Practices

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