Eulogy

[heslopian]

my old head of year has died of cancer.
i remember sitting in her office in high school
and she had grey hair which shone like nettles
as the sun through the window behind her lit it.

everything could be explained by hormones
in her opinion, or so it seemed at the time.
sadness, fights, abuse, bullying,
all down to your biology, growing like bacteria.

i accused her once of emotional blackmail
and she vanquished me with stern dulcet tones
which reminded me I was a kid. she was nice though.
in the way all small women with well groomed children
and healthy salaries are nice. she wore a beige jacket
and wandered the halls with a clipboard. she was nice.

and now she's gone and i've agreed
to attend a wake on the beach, where empty gestures
will be made with purple ribbons, torches, songs,
as though we're pagans worshipping wicker.

i'll always remember the light in her hair,
how dark her office was, and how unnaturally normal she seemed.