Two Thoughts & A Funeral

I tell them I don't like funerals.

They look at me with grave eyes,
                                                  and say
           You need to be there
                     to show the grieving you care;
          Show that you share their grief,
   But keep those condolences brief.
      It'll be better, if you let those tears flow,
                            Only then will they know.

"I will not cry." - I tell this to all available ears;
       I'm resolved to be silent and strong,
                                           and shed no tears.

But at the final farewell,
       that hardened resolve breaks
                          when surrounded by grief
                                    and weeping heartaches.
 The terrible emptiness and despair
                          at what fate has wrought;
     
In the face of human helplessness,
               Even the divine
                                     fall
                                        short.