The funeral celebrant<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t know him, of course
The deceased
Instead he stitched together
a homespun
Cloth of many hues
A wifely tale or two
A child\u2019s distant memories
A mate\u2019s amusing anecdote<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t know him, the deceased
Wasn\u2019t privy to inside info
Couldn\u2019t know the fault lines
Of a flawed and fractured life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wasn\u2019t told the truth, of course
Didn\u2019t have much to go on.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so
Platitudes land flatly in our laps
Sphynxes, we sit complicit
Willing belief
Cliches jar\u00a0
Disturbing dissonant
Weasel words pool between our chairs\u00a0
As we let them slide
Untouched<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bad is cancelled today,
Only the good remains\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t know him
Of course
This version of his life is ours to swallow
He couldn\u2019t know we\u2019d choke inside
Or hear the silent screams of indignation
No! He was not like that.
He was not like that at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The funeral celebrant He didn\u2019t know him, of courseThe deceasedInstead he stitched together a homespunCloth of many huesA wifely tale or twoA child\u2019s distant memoriesA mate\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":4476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[550,8,21,10],"class_list":["post-4469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry","tag-judie-mitchell","tag-mountain-ash-chapter","tag-poetry","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AdobeStock_631587878_Preview-e1715341211269.jpeg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pff1uY-1a5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4257,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4257","url_meta":{"origin":4469,"position":0},"title":"This is Not a Poem","author":"Elissa McKay","date":"March 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThis is not poetry!\u201dmy son shoutsthe darkness of his eyesswimming in outrage Because I can\u2019t just arrangewords on the pageto make pretty shapesthe words have to mean somethingor rhyme (rhyme can stand infor meaning) poetry has tobe profound More meaningful thanthe long clean lines of armand leg, his straight nose,his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Memory Book"","block_context":{"text":"Memory Book","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=120"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2909,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2909","url_meta":{"origin":4469,"position":1},"title":"This Is Not Our Time","author":"Teresa Lawler","date":"November 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd rather endureall of the sadnessthan remain Unknowing.Bring me back,hold me. 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