The Dead and The Living
I wrote this in Nov 1987 on a Sunday on the way to work
I remember Keith Jackson saying it was poetic as I corner him
with the snatch I’d written
The Dead and The Living (c)
by
Michael Casey
I first saw a deceased when I was nine years old ,my father said not
to worry as the dead are the same as the living , only the laughter
has left them , the sparkle has gone from their eyes , the worry has
been lifted from their shoulders , and their voice has vanished to
eternity .
In paradise the sparkle will return for it is the twinkle of the
stars , the laughter will return too for it is the morning breeze and
the turning tides are their sides shaking with laughter .
I treat the deceased with the same courtesy as I give to the living,
though I find the deceased are always more polite . My father also
had a few words to say about the living .
He said that the living are only the caretakers of the soul , yet
they think their existence is everything , that they know everything
because they experience many things with their senses .
What the living don’t acknowledge is that their time is short and
when I lay their bodies to rest then their souls continue without
them , without their strong , without their weak , without their
beautiful or even ugly temporary form , to where I cannot say , only
that it is a better place .
Percy the undertaker placed the lid on the coffin ,the soul was free
THE BEGINNING
*****
from The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker by Michael Casey (me)
Chinese Traditional Translation of The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker 08-Sep-2023
Percy the Undertaker in the novel is a Poet and an Undertaker so in the book it's something he says. I've reposted it here, in the hope it gives some hope to HK. people. They have been
big readers out of the blue, and now......
