Locked knees

When our father died

Masonic members of the Scottish Rite came

and performed final rites at his viewing.

They marched to and fro in their regalia,

spoke sacred vows before his open casket.

The next morning, before his last ride,

his preacher preached a sermon.

A military detail came to the gravesite,

performed a twenty-one gun salute,

folded the flag and handed it to mom.

As they lowered him in the ground

a soldier standing guard passed out

and hit his head on the casket.

The rest of the soldiers gathered him up

and laid him out unconscious on the ground.

While mom worried about the soldier,

family members chuckled and whispered

that somewhere dad is grumping,

“Who’s the f***ing idiot that trained this soldier

and didn’t teach him not to lock his knees.”

4-10-25