The Final Act

 

I do not want you to stand there as if dumb

required out of a conformist etiquette to be present

I have arranged my funeral as a theatre for all

for family, friends and bystanders alike

This time within these sacred portals will stain your eternal memory

as no other farewell has or ever will

My body will be borne on the shoulders of those who I love

this should rapidly reduce supposed numbers

Tchaikovsky´s Piano Concerto No 1 will see me in

followed by the opening of Peer Gynt "The Morning song"

John´s prologue will be read in deep solemnity

with the Lord´s Prayer sung to the tune of Merbeck

A priest will cense the coffin and sprinkle it with holy water

as a choir sings Chopin´s Ave Maria

Then a soprano will sing the aria "Un bel di vedremo"

A eulogy is to be read in Spanish only

with the distant beat of the milonga tango "el antaño"

The officiating priest will speak the words of committal in Latin

and as my mortal remains disappear from view

Norman Greenbaum will be given maximum volume with

SPIRIT IN THE SKY