Fashion Show

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 15:18 -- Tenci98

What do you wear to see a man who is already dead

If you dress in black will it hasten his demise

Will the bright colors of Spring give him hope

A reminder that life goes on

Or will the world spinning without him only sadden him further

Will he be insulted if you smile and joke because

You don’t know what to say

What face do you don for a dead man

Will showing your depression make him happier

To let him know that he will be missed

Or will you die with him because of it

What shoes do you put on

Sneakers to show how quickly you want to get away from him

Black ones to remind him that he is already dead

Walking shoes to demonstrate your calmness

Surely jeans are too informal

But slacks are too much the opposite

And his funeral won’t be for a few more weeks

What words do you choose to say to the family of a dead man aged 25

“He’s going to a better place”

“God needs young men in heaven”

“I’m sorry for your loss”

“I’m sorry for his loss”

“I’m sorry for my loss”

Are they arrayed in your closet the morning of his last day like a rack of ties

Choosing which noose to choke down your grief with

Because how can you advise anyone on fashion

If your clothes are soaked salty

Should you dress as a Doctor or a Priest

What do you wear to be one of the last men a dead man sees

Do you tell him that you wrote this for him the night before he died

These poems hang in the servers

Carrying the legacy of the notebooks I tore to shreds so that their secrets would be mine

I've no solace for the living dead in the words I find

Yet I've shouldered and soaked up too many tears

My pen cannot run dry

There are stories yet to tell

For those who haven't died.

This poem is about: 
Me

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