colossal liars at a funeral

nothing brings out the rats like a eulogy---
they come scampering out from the sewage drains &
all dressed in whimpering black,
show up because they have to make an appearance
in order to keep up some kind of rep
in order to make good with the other slithering snakes
who may still be wondering about the
will,
regardless of whether or not the deceased in question
really was a “good” person
(whatever that means).

and if the person was a fuck
as so many of us are in life
then the eulogy is the time when all the bullshit is
concentrated,
when you can close your eyes,
throw a rock & hit a bushel full of lies---
people making up stories that never really happened
(who’s gonna argue?),
people sharing emotions that aren’t even there,
all for the sake of the
living---
because those of us who really did know so & so
are supposed to be broken up & torn inside,
and for some reason this obligatory tradition
is supposed to bring some kind of closure to us
so that we can go back to work on monday &
continue to provide for the machine as
good little workers.