lackluster_goodbye tender_square one thousand miles cross-country for a gathering of less than twenty under a gazebo. the chaplain from her retirement community presided over the ceremony (if you could even call it that). he spoke about her politeness and how she had left her body and ascended to heaven where she's without pain, and that those who have turned to the lord will find their way back to her in eternal life. he did the thing where he quoted a bible passage from memory, and repeated the same words over again as though he was imparting deeper wisdom. it was an awkward collage of quotes to advance an agenda: the only way is jesus. it was over, not ten minutes after it began. a man from the army cemetery handed over some papers and said that she would not be interred until after four o’clock. we couldn’t cross to the other side of the graveyard to view her husband’s plot because we had not been vetted by reserve police upon entry. we received a small urn of her ashes to take with us. we said goodbye to family we’d only seen for less than an hour. then, we drove another thousand miles back the way we’d come. 221120 what's it to you? who go blather from