In their passing,
They are always great;
As if we now understand
What mountains had burdened our dear ones that have made them
Socially incompatible with us.
We honour the moment
The news is spoken
Our lips and ears
Respecting that space of silence that follows
Allowing it to somehow summarise within us
The length of years of their rising and falling
Into a single moment of forgiveness.
We know that tomorrow,
We will be giving speeches about how great he had been
In our lives,
Now that he's gone,
And then in a few hours,
Return him to the air and the sea.