Joy Ride

Bones branch inside a casket

carried in a limousine. Trees

wind limbs in a lingering embrace.

Hollowed eyes fix on heaven’s canopy

while tissues daub tears.

Smiles strain faces

red in belief, white in denial.

Marriage bands the naked finger.

Face, scrubbed of paint

faces truth in shrouded flight.

Barren heart flutters when irises

bloom in new dawn’s light.

Crib of earth and insect knits

the final bed with meter, verse

grace, decay. Dust cradles life.

— t. l. cummings

Image found on Pinterest.