The Dead and The Living

The Dead and The Living

              The Dead and The Living (c)

 

                           by

          

                     Michael  Casey

 

 

     I first saw a deceased when I was nine years old ,my father said  not

 

     to worry as the dead are the same as the living ,  only the  laughter

 

     has left them ,  the sparkle has gone from their eyes , the worry has

 

     been lifted from their shoulders ,  and their voice has vanished  to

 

     eternity .

 

     In  paradise the sparkle will return for it is the  twinkle  of  the

 

     stars , the laughter will return too for it is the morning breeze and

 

     the turning tides are their sides shaking with laughter .

    

     I treat the deceased with the same courtesy as I give to the living,

 

     though I find the deceased are always more polite .  My father also

 

     had a few words to say about the living .

 

     He said that the living are only the caretakers of the  soul  ,  yet

 

     they think their existence is everything , that they know everything

 

      because they experience many things with their senses .

 

      What the living don't acknowledge is that their time is  short  and

 

      when I lay their bodies to rest then their souls  continue  without

 

      them ,  without their strong ,  without their weak ,  without  their

 

      beautiful or even ugly temporary form , to where I cannot say , only

 

      that it is a better place .

 

      Percy the undertaker placed the lid on the coffin ,the soul was free

 

 

                          THE  BEGINNING

 

 *****

from The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker by Michael Casey 

november 1987