Plague Song - Pallbearers / by Rich Hobbs

Auntie Sarah’s 

Carer’s 

Pallbearers’ 

Nostrils flare as 

They imperceptibly shift the weight on all four of them there.

And in a world that’s been declared 

As fit simply for billionaires 

Don’t fret you can’t compare 

Whether this or that is fair. 

However clean the air is, 

However loud the prayers 

And however fixed the pallbearers’ 

Long, inscrutable stares, 

It’s invariably rare 

    That a shroud becomes its wearer.