When I Die Play the Sounds of Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis at My Funeral

J. B. Stone

 

As I lay, six feet under. As
maggots feast on my remains,
turn my funeral into a more
traditional wake, Pagan,
Earthy in death’s delight. Save
my loved ones the thousands
in funeral home expenses, save
them the generic semantics,
for another rendition of
Amazing Grace, or a prayer
from holy men I never knew
and will never know. Let the
soundtrack of this mourning
be a solace sound of haunting
joy. Let the piles of vinyl you
leave beside my tombstone,
be a surrogate for a rose bouquet.
Let the scores be composed for
the dawn of Autumn Leaves and
nightlife moments revolving
‘Round Midnight. Let the aura
of Blue in Green cover your
grief in Milestones for a
tomorrow worth carrying

 

***

J. B. Stone is an neurodiverse poet/fiction writer from Brooklyn, now residing in Buffalo. Stone is the author of A Place Between Expired Dreams And Renewed Nightmares (Ghost City Press 2018). Some of his work is featured and/or forthcoming in Occulum, Riggwelter Press, Peach Mag, BlazeVOX, Mystic Blue Review, Breadcrumbs Magazine, Flash of Dark, Crack the Spine, among several other publications. You can check out more of his work and other noteworthy updates at jaredbenjaminstone.com.