“Look straight ahead / What’s there?” said Zen monk Bassui Tokusho moments before passing away. “If you see it as it is / you will never err.” This tender Japanese death poem would leave many of us utterly befuddled and awe-struck by its logic-shattering beauty and asking one simple question, “And then what?” Well, after death, quite obviously, comes the funeral. And after the funeral, quite unexpectedly and very much delightfully, comes “After the Funeral,” written by the one and only Billy Collins and included in his collection Aimless Love. Read here by the poet himself and infused with his never-ending optimism, wit, and love of simple but heart-uplifting verse. Please enjoy!
AFTER THE FUNERAL
by Billy CollinsWhen you told me you needed a drink-drink
and not just a drink like a drink of water,I steered you by the elbow into a corner bar,
which turned out to be a real bar-bar,dim and nearly empty with little tables in the back
where we drank and agreed that the funeralwas a real funeral-funeral complete with a Mass,
incense, and tons of eulogies.You know, I always considered Tom a real
friend-friend, you said, lifting your drink-drinkto your lips, and I agreed that Tom
was much more than just an ordinary friend.We also concurred that Angela’s black dress
was elegant but not like elegant-elegant,just elegant enough. And a few hours later
when the bartender brought yet another roundof whiskeys to our table in the corner
we recognized by his apron and his mighty girththat he was more than just a bartender.
A true bartender-bartender was what he waswe decided, with a respectful clink-clink
of our drink-drinks, amber in a chink of afternoon light.
Complement this poem from Aimless Love with David Kessler on finding meaning after loss.
