“Wearing Slippers to a Funeral”

Wearing slippers to a funeral-

I was distracted.

Listening to Steely Dan,

Thinking about life:

The past,

Or,

More suitably,

The present…

Sometimes even a glimpse into the future.

The funeral was filled-

With memories of yesterdays,

Maybe nostalgia.

I felt nothing more,

And withheld no tears,

In this room holding my past.

Some of them spoke.

But,

No one spoke of the slippers.

I did not take them off-

There were no real shoes in my car.

Better than bare feet,

The ghosts would have whispered,

About the bare feet

(not the slippers).

Today, slippers can pass as…

“Just dignified enough.”

So, today I wear slippers to a funeral,

And yesterday’s ghosts do not care.

Tomorrow…

I will go barefoot.