FUNERAL ORDERS - Gabriel L. Nathan

[LEOSupporter]

FUNERAL ORDERS

Weep, thou square-shouldered men, thou hard-faced women
The thousands of you here today shall cry together all,
On his shoulder or hers you shall rest your weary heads.
For as wetness rains down from the Heavens, so too,
Shall it pour on from your sad and terrified blue eyes.

Salute, thou uniformed throng, thou soldiers of the law,
You must all pay respect today, you must honor the debt,
The widow is passing by now and for her you must be strong,
No harsh words shall be spoke, my friends, no weapons shall be drawn,
There are no killers now to wrestle with, now grieving takes its turn.

Play, thou minstrels of death, thou muses of cruel pain,
Your drums will coax this fallen one to his all-to-early grave,
Keep sharp now all your hands and play well this requiem,
Intone you now the pipes, I say. Cry on, hard notes, cry on!
Your skirling sounds may haunt some hearts, but heal all Law today.

Pray, thou earnest chaplain, thou wise and gracious priest,
Help these despondent masses to stand up and rise again,
To walk their beats of filth, to work again their shifts,
Tell them they are righteous, give them comfort all today,
Share with them their anger as you share with them your love.

Stand, thou wounded woman, thou innocent wronged youth,
Be always brave and always proud, but let the mourners help,
For though, it's true, in hell you walk, for now they are your solace,
Widow, live amongst the living, not the void, black like your dress.

Wail, thou mechanized voices, thou screaming siren's song,
Bleat out your anguished yelps as the martyr's march prowls on,
Howl louder for this hero, bring good people fromo their homes,
Call them out to witnes, let them all for certain know.
They have one less protector, that the law has been assailed,

And so wail today, so wail.


Used with Special Permission of the Author, Gabriel L. Nathan

Copyright © 1997 - All Rights Reserved

and may not be duplicated without permission

gabrielnathan@hotmail.com

[L.E. Psych]

Thank you LEO Supporter, with all that has transpired today, yesterday, well just too many times to even want to think about, this poem shows the true sense of family loss. When an officer dies we all lose a family member a brother/sister. Thank you for putting this beautiful poem out there for all of us to see.

[LEOSupporter]

Your Welcome. You can read another of his poems, A Patrolman’s Departure that I also posted. Mr Nathan is the author of the book For a Tin Star.