REST IN PEACE

is
something
I often say or write
when someone
dies.

it
is an
empty tribute
because
I have no idea
if the dead
are resting
in peace.

I have
no idea what
they are
doing.

are they
at rest in a bed
of soft
fragrant
roses

or
are they
locked in
an eternal
nightmare?

I tend
to think they
are nothing

not
spirit
or
reincarnated
into a cow

or
frolicking
with a covey
of virgins

or
at the feet
of a beared old man
talked about
in the bible.

I know
nothing and
that is the way
it is meant
to be.

even
so I continue
to say

rest in peace.

it is
a wish
without
substance.

it is
a nice thing
to say
and

nothing more.

Photo: Kurt Nimmo, Mexican graveyard, Las Cruces, NM, 2002.