He stood there silently
In the long, languorous line
Curled around and passing through
Beneath the lighted, night-chilled dome.
Shuffling and stepping with a muted tread,
It linked its way to the vaulted hall
Where the great corpse lay, reposed and still,
In the aspects of burnished love and steel;
A human chain of love, sadness, tender tears,
And curiosity-seekers seeking solace.

He moved forward, looking now
At the flowered casket of a dead man’s dreams,
At the lowered eyes of a stately retinue
Posed with piousness and thinking dear of home,
Stopped for one quick parting eulogy to death,
And moving in and out, in and out again,
Though the line of human sorrow passed
And felt its way together such as one,
He moved apart and, in his grief, alone.

He stood outside and passed
Among the couples walking fast away,
Heads averted, shushed in silent tones,
Clutching fast the mind-numbed memory
Of cold night lines and passing glances
At the bedecked final resting place of death.
Silently he stood there, back against the night,
Then he turned his head aside
And raised his collar up against the cold.