sudden loss~not familiar with laughing at a funeral

for Stephanie and Lucio--
in memory of Stephanie Costanzo

understanding I wasn't
familiar with laughing
at a funeral

I'm glossy
eyed at the loss
of a friend I had just
begun to learn about
by hanging out
over tea-

she came
with her husband to hear
me play piano at the cafe'

they came late, and stayed
until most folks had coffee
and desert-

after the salmon dinner,
the community sharing
in music poetry and revelry

just seven weeks before
i just learned of your passing
your husband now in stable
condition- all i can do is pray

this year has been
an indulgence
in prayer- as if it could

bring the spirits of those
who had died
 back for a while--

 to recognize
who among their friends
were honoring and grieving-

a friend who left smiling
too very soon to be leaving
who still had much life
and spark left in her...

a woman who spent
most of her time
with her adoring husband-
they- who taught ballroom dancing

just driving, just swerved
into the opposite lane, where a jeep
was peacefully motoring-

a sunny saturday---curtailed..
at the sound
of tire metal and glass
airlifted--

to try to let spirit
apply entrance
into a higher plane

dear spirit-- joined
with past generations
welcoming,
with open wings

my friend, now angelic
etched in soft
snow white- velour

soft artist soul
may you rest
in the peace and the timbre
of bells--angelic harps
and gentle
silence

words/image-kate lamberg (c) '17