I shuffled into the decades old building
The dark velvety purple chairs lined up
The smell of oil and dust from the books stacked up in symmetrical rows seap into the four corners of the room
The walls were supposed to make you feel hope and comfort
But not on that day, not ever again since 2010

"Put your head down" my mother whispered strictly into my ear
As we collectively pass the opened church doors
But being the stubborn Taurus I am
I had to look up out of curiosity
Despite my mother's firm grip trying to keep my neck down

Beyond the aisle separating the two sides of the church she lied
In her delicate creamy white casket
Her eyelids closed shut for her mahogany irises will never be seen again
Her slightly chapped lips in a tight line
I'll never hear her nicknames for me
Those lips will never part

The mornings with salty noodles and streaming phineas and ferb
The afternoons watching judge Judy
The reading together, the joking around
Gone
Gone
Gone
For the great aunt I share those moments with lies helplessly in a casket soon to be buried
Only I have those memories now