The Ekphrastic Review
  • The Ekphrastic Review
  • The Ekphrastic Challenges
    • Challenge Archives
  • Ebooks
  • Prizes
  • Book Shelf
    • TERcets Podcast
  • The Ekphrastic Academy
  • Give
  • Submit
  • Contact
  • About/Masthead

The Funeral Party, by Margo Davis

5/13/2021

1 Comment

 

The Funeral Party

The deflated patriarch turns                 
          his incongruous crimson tie

and downcast gaze away from 
          what has become     

his expanding pale-faced 
           family now that his brother’s 

passed. The two men hadn’t been  
           close since his brother 

wouldn’t made good on his 
            loans. The wife has a mouth 

that stirs up trouble with Maud.  
            The dim son, an uncoupled   

brake van, studies his tomboy 
            sister as if bemused by this 

game he confuses with dodgeball. 
             And who’s that removed  

woman, hands buried in pockets, 
             gaze confronting us head-on? 

Her soft grey coat stands out among 
             baggy glum sacks 

funereal black. What secrets 
             would she divulge in a pub?     

Death will exhale its foul breath on 
             every soul, yes, whether 

robust, boozy stout or 
              broomstick sober, small or 

jousting with the sun. Yet off-guard  
             we remain, gobsmacked  

by this visitor who makes                 
             no bones about dropping by.     

Don’t we prefer the Reaper appears 
             unannounced, only                

to discover it’s poppycock,  
             this being the wrong house 

or circumstance, poor timing, or a
             bleary bender. Then exits 

with neither child nor adult 
             whimpering like one beneath 

its muscular unflappable reach, not 
             even the anxious barking 

hound granted a brief stay 
             of execution by the pound.

Margo Davis

​This poem was inspired by the L.S. Lowry painting, The Funeral Party. View it here.
​
When not walking off the isolation blues, Margo Davis immerses herself in the arts. Recent poems have appeared in Deep South Magazine, 50 Give or Take, Ekphrastic Review, Snapdragon, MockingHeart Review, & Odes and Elegies: Eco-Poetry from the Texas Gulf Coast. A three-time Pushcart nominee, Margo's forthcoming chapbook will be published by Finishing Line Press. 

1 Comment
Arnold Harrison
3/25/2024 10:33:51 am

Love your poetry

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    The Ekphrastic Review
    Picture
    Current Prompt
    Picture
    COOKIES/PRIVACY

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Join us: Facebook and Bluesky
    @ekphrasticreview.



    ​
    ​Archives
    ​

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Lorette C. Luzajic [email protected] 

  • The Ekphrastic Review
  • The Ekphrastic Challenges
    • Challenge Archives
  • Ebooks
  • Prizes
  • Book Shelf
    • TERcets Podcast
  • The Ekphrastic Academy
  • Give
  • Submit
  • Contact
  • About/Masthead