EULOGY

Fiona Reenan

They buried her in lilies. I hung my head and turned around. Careful not to disturb the bones beneath my feet, Making love to each other underground. Walking towards the black car, I pondered The passion it must take to be a ghost, Writhing around amongst the dirt, Searching for a long lost soul. She won’t be alone underneath the lilies.

I can’t tell if it comforts me to know, That somewhere down there, another someone Will fill the space between her bones. Now in the rearview reflection of a grassy hill, I swear I saw a glimmer of her ghost. My heart jumped against my skin, Begging her to know

Were you ever truly of this world, my darling? Were you ever really mine to hold?

Does your skin remember my touch?

Now that your blood has run cold?

Do you know that I love you, here, in this funeral car? And that I’ve loved you longer still?

I spent forty years believing you belonged to me, Now I know you never did.

But they can’t take you away from me, darling. With their shovels and flowers, their messages left on the phone. Some part of me will forever stay on that hill, Searching for you amongst the lilies, the dirt, and the bones.