Odd poem of the day - 5.5.06

Ruth Mae, Willodene, Burt, and Aunt Mary --
Is it really so odd to enjoy reading the obituaries?
"Survived by two sisters, four children, and six grandchildren;"
"Enjoyed nature, walking, and her pets;"
"Will be missed" --
Phrasing done to death (pardon the pun),
But no less meaningful when it's your own laid out in black and white in the Friday newspaper
Or are they on Tuesday? Seems a shame to start the weekend with death,
Funeral directors scrambling ads on a deadline,
Each assuring avid readers that they care most.
Maybe it's the reminder, in obviously old photos and listings of the live,
That death awaits us all, and ultimately, we are reduced to inches in a column
(Priced generously for the bereaved)
That will never come close to describing a life,
But only provide the means to ponder how we will be remembered.