Look at me, listen to what I have to say, process these words coming from my voice.

Put down the phone, stop looking at your baseball stats, put aside your disappointment, listen to my sorrow

Your great-grandfather has passed.

Put down those trivial devices, statistics that will not matter

We need to pay our respects.

A solemn drive

A man laying down, cold, pale, peaceful, you know he will not wake up again.

Comfort your cousin, help him process what is happening 

Look at his photos, his uniform, his medals,

Know now he can rest with his wife and his son.

Listen to the speeches of your family, the prayers of a religion you do not follow, but are following for him.

Get in the car, watch the hearse drive away.

Rain,

As if the very skies had opened to mourn him.

Two men in full Navy uniforms, here to pay respects for their fallen brother

Two daughters,  two husbands, five grandchildren, many great-grandchildren watch.

Looking at him for the final time,

Knowing you can’t watch him be buried.

Visit his house, look at the artifacts of his life.

A Navy compass, models of ships he worked on, life jackets he had with him, pins on a map that will sit undisturbed.

Hear stories of his life,

Avoiding mandatory swim tests, serving his country, the painful and joyous times.

He lived to 100 and shall be remembered,

Now let him rest with his fellow service and family members.