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I had never seen anything like it
From every angle, for every step
you took, there were
perfectly straight white lines
dotted with white headstones
All identical
Linda said something to me
three weeks after the burial
I don't think you had
one thought about your father
during the whole ceremony.
Your head was spinning
with architectural glee
I could not disagree
"Freud would call it
a defense mechanism"
Entering the National Cemetery,
the lead car was the hearse
The second car had
my mother and me
in the fron
with Linda and Judith
in the backseat
Followed by four cars
of Oliverios and Anastasios
Then six cars of everybody else
When we left the cemetery,
the order of the cars
was the same,
minus the hearse
We had to pass the office building
of the cemetery again
and that was when it happened
It was a good thing
that neither Sgt. Oliverio's
widow nor any of his offspring
had to pee
There were two very visible signs
on the office building
with arrows pointing
in opposite directions:
INTERMENT INFORMATION
and
RESTROOMS
I pointed out the irony
of this juxtaposition
to my mother
She laughed
I laughed
My two sisters laughed
louder than both of us
My mother slid her hand
across the seat
It would be the last time
I held her hand
Seven months later,
we re-entered the same cemetery
Behind the hearse,
I sat in the same seat
with my two sisters
I could hear my father smiling
as the coffin was placed
on top of him
Linda and Judy
heard the same thing
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Footnote
MARCH 20, 1971
HUNTINGTON, NEW YORK
is the copyrighted property
of LCSoL
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