Night funeral
In my barrio:
Where did they get
Those two bottles of rum?
Funeral insurance he did not pay—
His policy was canceled only the other day—
They could not afford a decent box
To lay the poor man’s head to rest.
Night funeral
In my barrio:
Who sent that frail wreath
Of flowers?
The flowers came
From the corner florist—
Yet flowers matter little
When the last breath is taken.
Night funeral
In my barrio:
Who’s that eulogizing
The man to his grave?
Old Don Juan rose to say—
Eulogized that man away—
Charged a couple of bucks—
His family couldn’t pay.
Night funeral
In my barrio:
When it was all over,
And the lid shut on the casket,
And the cuatro had played,
And the last rosary was said,
And six drunk pallbearers
Carried him out to the hearse,
And off down the dirt road
That long black hearse drove away,
The drinking bar
At his corner
Shut down for the day—
For the man they were mourning
Was so dear, so dear,
To those folks who drank with him,
To the girl who sat with him—a tear shed.
It was all their tears that made
That poor man’s funeral,
A night funeral
In my barrio.