Requiescat in Pace

Overcast skies, a threat of rain,
then the long limousines arrive;
umbrellas cover the blackclad figures,
not many, as they lay poor Michael
in the ground.

Holy Father, intones the priest,
(the mourners shuffle to the edge of the grave)
take this Thy fair but blemished son,
Thy will be done, and grant him a share
in life everlasting.

Afterwards, a cluster of guests
assemble in the home of the bereaved;
polite mumbles, a search for strong drink,
then a second drink, having laid poor Michael
in the ground.

The wife:

I would like to thank
all of you for coming today;
I am at a loss,
I don't really know what to say --
Michael would have been so pleased
to see ... to see

The family friend:

There, there, Cindy, that will do,
Teddy will give you a nice long drink;
I have no idea what happened with Michael,
I don't know what to think --
a sad loss, such a sad loss.

Michael was my very dear friend
and we were in business together;
you can be sure I will miss him --
but I can't help wonder whether
he knew, he knew this would happen ....

The mother:

Michael was such a darling little boy,
and I used to hug and play with him,
the bouncing blue-eyed light of my life;
lately, I never knew what to say to him,
and he would never drop by or call,
never, not once at all ....

The sister:

Michael was ten years older
and he had ... he had control over me;
I used to cry hot bitter tears
when he'd press down hard and roll over me,
all sticky down below, but I was young,
and I don't remember ... won't remember.

The brother:

I'm sorry, but I never liked Michael,
he was always a bully and a cruel bastard,
totally, and insanely selfish;
bad enough sober, he was worse when plastered,
well, I'm sorry to see him dead,
but not much ... not much.

The schoolmaster:

Michael had a head for figures,
and he was most extraordinarily adept
with columns of numbers;
alone and secretive, he often wept,
but there was a cruel little streak
in the boy ... that boy.

The police inspector:

I hope you will pardon my intrusion
on this private family occasion,
please accept my apologies;
but to speak bluntly, and without evasion,
this man was a crook,
and he was shot down ... shot dead

BY ONE OF YOU!!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
cry out the assembled guests:

- the wife
- the family friend
- the mother
- the sister
- the brother
- the schoolmaster

furtive, darting glances
take in the windows, the walls and the roof;
(be calm, be cool
don't act the fool)
this cop may have his suspicions,
what he doesn't have is proof!