Affording the Funeral

Anders Carlson-Wee

for Scott

Your folks were about to downsize anyway.
The Ford. The riding lawnmower. Letting go
of the furniture was harder. The hope chest
had sailed from Norway with Great-Grandpa Morris
in 1904, but the age and the make made it
liquidable. The trampoline. The jewelry.
There was no need to pay a pastor outside the family.
Uncle Dave did a fine job. Told the story
about the mullet to highlight your stubbornness,
which everyone said afterwards they loved.
The china covered most of the casket. The speedboat
got the headstone. And someone from the Odegard
Funeral Home went to Aunt Mary's church,
so they gave us permission to come a day early
and dig the hole. We were told we had to reach
the standard depth, but they were willing
to turn a blind eye while we got there.