Laura Lee's Funeral

Laura Lee's Funeral 1. We are traveling on the infinite ship From our forgotten harbor To our unknown port of call Beneath the impassive stars Upon the endless, everchanging sea Towards a sun that may be Rising from, Or sinking to, The Deeps. It is up to us To discover which; The answer lies, I think, In the voyage. 2. It is, of course, A day like any other. Save that today another traveler Has gone below the decks And we know we shall not see her Walk the ship amongst us 'Til who can say when. We all go belowdecks eventually; Some quietly Some with great fanfare But we all go And it is left to those still above Who knew them To celebrate, or rue Their time among us 'Til our time to follow comes. 3. This one we celebrate. Oh, how we do. For she was one of the Good Companions, Those who make the sailing easier Come calm, come gale. The Kind word The Attentive ear The Helpful hand That soothes the seas beneath And stills the storms above, For which the ones she traveled with Lived all the better. 4. We hold our ceremonies We say our words When the ones we know Go below Into the Hold, There to await us. We weep our tears We dream our dreams We weave our memories Among the milling throngs abovedeck. Until one day or night Something calls us, And down we go. And the infinite ship Keeps sailing on Towards that rising? setting? sun. 5. I think that sometime, When the Hold is finally filled, We shall make our Port of Call. We shall drop anchor, And disembark; And when we do, The Good will see a sunrise The Bad will see a sunset Above that Undiscovered Country From whose bourne no traveler returns. And on that day, Laura Lee and all the Good Companions She graced along the way Will stand and shine together On that Undiscovered shore, In the perfect, Incomprehensible Sunrise.