ceremony

we need ceremony.

the shovel

of dirt

upon the grave,

our heads bowed.

words said.

trumpets or guns

set ablaze.

we need

decorum

and horses.

we need flags

and flowers

to recognize the end

of a beginning,

the beginning

of an end.

we mark our calendars

to remember,

but still,

no matter how bronze

the plaque,

how strong

the stone, in time

we all

fade away.