Photography © Edward S. Gault
A Guest at My Own Funeral
I have this desire to attend my own funeral
Not as an angel watching from above
Or a presence lingering
Or whatever it is you believe in for an afterlife
But consciously
A guest among the crowd
I want to see if my father is in attendance
Weeping for his child he never bothered to know
Or the girls that were rude to me in high school
Blotting away at invisible tears
I want to hear to know who is chosen to deliver a heartfelt eulogy
And what they have to say about me
Who they think I was
Will they play my favorite song?
Will they toast to me?
Drinking my favorite liquor
I want to know who mourns me
I want to hear the emotions people wait to reveal about you
Until after you’re already gone
Frances Gervais is a senior at Salem State University. “I enjoy writing, music, movies, and playing guiatr in my free time and recently have been dipping my toes into the waters of poetry.”
Edward S. Gault is a poet and fine arts photographer living in Brighton, Massachusetts. His work has appeared in Oddball Magazine, Spectrum, Wilderness House Literary Review, Interlude, Currents, and Encore. His poetry collection, Airhead and Other Poems was published this year by Read and Green Books.