The Red Carnation And The Damned Poem by georgios andritsos

the air was cool inside
the church,
but felt heavy.
he lay in the coffin
hands folded
dressed in a white suit
red carnation tucked in a pocket.
he looked like a wax doll.
candles burned
incense burned
my heart burned.
the icons on the walls
held a promise
of another place
of another sun
of another life
eternal life…
I bent over
and I kissed him
on his forehead.
he felt cold,
cold as a marble.
and people stood there
looking like wax dolls
wearing black cloths
and black ribbons
around their sleeves.
and people stood there
wearing sad eyes
sad faces, but
soulless souls.
and people stood there
looking at him
looking at themselves
in that coffin.
I was angry with them for
not showing up before.
Where were you when he thought of you?
Where were you when he needed you?
Where were you when he cried?
and under the scorching June sun
they lowered the man in the ground and
with their languid hands
cast earth on the coffin.
and they turned their backs
and moved on.
very few remember that day
very few remember.
he was young
he was a father
he was my god