The Obituary Page

My friend’s former wife,
mother of his kids,
died yesterday,
and this morning

thumbing through the POST,
I came upon her picture
quite by accident,

then that of the father
of a high school classmate.

I could feel my crossing
into the hallowed precinct
of the obituary page,

laminated in sincerity,
resonant with echoes
from the Other World —

that metaphysical
Times Square,
where eventually
you’ll come across
everyone you know.