Divine Mealticket Poem by Bill Upton

The waiting for this moment was over.
The family who neglected the man in life,
Who ignored him in his desperate illness,
Now lined up to divide the spoils of his will.
As he breathed his last breath,
The man they found little value for in life
Now had meaning within his death.
At last, his existence would benefit them
As they gathered around like ravenous wolves
Waiting for his safe to be opened
To boldly step up and claim their spoils of inheritance.
They jockeyed for position for the first taste of war chest blood-
Party money right around the corner,
New flat screens for the house.
As the insurance policy unfolded
There was an audible gasp from the 'nouveau riche'.
The number on the policy was big and it was bold.
$100,000.00.
The collective scream went up-
One that is usually reserved for Super Bowl victories
Or game winning World Series home runs.
A roomful of greedy emotional cash registers
All together rang up the sale.
The complete dismantling, the gutting of the relationship
With the deceased was final.
All at once the discovery was made.
Embedded across the policy was the indelible stamp of the notary seal stating in celebration- stopping rhetoric,
'LAPSED'.
In the flash of a millisecond
And for the first time in their lives,
15 people saw, undeniably,
The face of God.