I went to a funeral this morning,
not of a family member,
nor a friend or loved one.
It was a service for a complete stranger.
I don’t know why.
I was just walking past the cemetery,
on some errand, I don’t remember what.
Just that it seemed important at the time.
I saw the casket resting above an open grave,
and one priest, conducting the service.
That was all.
No one was in attendance,
no one.
I should have walked on,
I usually would have,
but I stopped.
Before I knew what I was doing
I walked up and joined the service.
I don’t know why.
Perhaps it was the solemn priest
officiating as if on stage before thousands,
instead of speaking to only the dead.
So moved by his own words
that tears crept down his face.
Or was he mourning not the death,
but that someone should pass so alone?
Our eyes met as I walked up
and stood beside the grave.
A brief smile crossed his face
as he continued on,
as if I had been there the whole time.
After the priest spoke the final prayers,
while the casket was lowered into the ground,
he briefly squeezed my hand in parting.
No words were spoken, none were needed,
we both knew what we had shared.
I cried.
I don’t know why.
Through my tears I read his name
on the crude wooden sign,
shoved unceremoniously into the ground,
marking the place where a stone would proclaim
that this stranger had lived,
and died.
Later that afternoon with newspaper in hand
I found his name among the obituaries.
Such a short entry,
so dry, no picture,
a young man, only twenty four.
Just a listing of facts,
he was born in town,
lived in town,
died in town.
No mention of friends or family,
just one other word,
suicide.
This stranger had taken his own life.
I don’t know why.
I returned to the cemetery that evening,
stood alone again by his grave.
Too many thoughts in my head,
moving too fast to be recognized,
a welkin of emotions
undefined.
I put my flowers, the only ones there,
on his freshly filled in grave.
Not lilies or roses,
symbolizing mourning or love,
just a simple bouquet,
forget-me-nots.
And a promise,
I will remember you,
even if
I don’t know why.