Chapter 13. Dwindeling Fast. Poem by Katherine Shaw

What was left of my parents was flown back home
Fractures and breaks in almost every bone
The funeral director asked me if I wanted their things
I said I only wanted their gold rings;
Rings they bought when they were wed
Not much use to them now seeing as they were dead
Mum and dad lay in the Chapel of Rest
I didn't see them, I thought it was best
I wanted to remember them as they had been
Perfect, unspoiled as when last seen
They had been disfigured in the accident
Their bodies broken, battered and bent
The undertaker had already warned me
'It is probably a sight you don't want to see'
No, I wasn't going to view
It was too much to put myself through

My parents had no life insurance policy
So there was no money set aside for me
I would have to pay for the funeral
Use my savings, spend them all
They were getting buried, not a cremation
I had to think of a suitable location;
Somewhere wild flowers grew,
Somewhere where soft winds blew
There was a cemetery up the road
One where a gentle stream flowed
One where wild flowers grew
And it had the most amazing view
I knew they both would have loved that place
I could almost feel their grateful embrace
I had to deal with everything
I chose the church, I chose the hymn
Now I had to arrange the wake
Should I have a buffet? What should I make?
I paid for the coffins crafted from pine
Paid for the buffet, paid for the wine;
I paid for the Minister, I paid for the wake
Savings getting lesser, there was no mistake

They were low, dwindling fast
How much longer would they last?
Mum and dad hadn't made a will
The news swallowed like a bitter pill
Mum and dad had rented their home
The landlord had called me on the phone
He said 'You're going to have to pack up and leave'
I knew it was coming, that I did perceive
I simply had no way to pay the rent
My savings evaporating, almost spent
He wanted me out on the 'twenty-eighth day'
If I couldn't come up with a way to pay