on the way

All Souls

El Día de los Muertos
parades
so much energy
by skulls for decoration
costuming
with many made by sugar
for the rite of
having meals with the dead
that will
happen in cemeteries with warm light
by night and everything set out
with
the living family
attending

assured that those who’ve gone before
are still close by
if
also on their journey

a paradox of pleasure
more straightforward in
affection
as affection’s
due
and shall the families appreciate
the veil
of ritual and lore
and love by incarnation of
the ways we know
each other
here
and there while all of us
are on the way

and so the three days
go
while I don’t know who really counts
them all
together
preparing for each day and finding
new energy in each

that
might be by candy
all the carbohydrates
though
more so by
meaning of the ages
shared so often
simply and complexly
close
to home

c l couch


photo by Edgar Cavazos on Unsplash