From A Distance Poem by David Whalen

From a distance
On a hillside in Kentucky
From a distance
I heard "The Old Rugged Cross"
Sung hauntingly
And somewhat off-key
Amongst tilted headstones
Bleached, and shrouded in moss
The two young girls
No more than ten or eleven
Had no idea who it was
they were singing to Heaven
The summer breeze
Blew some of the words away…
From a distance
Their sweet voices
Would swell, and then die
There was the smell of clover
Distant cawing of crows
And above circling effortlessly
A curious vulture
There were happy lil' kids
And sad ol' folk there
My grandmother
Would have approved
If she could have seen
Her own funeral
I like to think that she did