Asleep At The Wake Poem by Kim Barney

Many years ago, after a hard day at work
and not getting much sleep the night before
because of kidney stone pains in my back,
I found myself standing in line to view
the corpse of a co-worker who
had suddenly passed away.

It was a struggle to suppress
the many yawns that kept
attempting to escape.

Two of my other co-workers
were in line in front of me
and were talking about
the deceased and some of
the good things he had done.

Finally, one asked the other:
'What do you want people
to say about you at your funeral? '

The response: 'I want people to say
that I was a good father and
was always there for my children.'

The other said: 'I would like them
to say that I was a good employee
and an asset to my company.'

At this point I was awake enough
to come up with: 'I want someone
to point at the casket and say,
'Look! I think he's moving! '