IN THE MOURNING

There’s a boy that builds coffins

One for your brother, one for his lover

And when your brother dies

Try to keep heads high

When the lover comes

Please let him weep, not sigh

In the mourning you will wake

With seven devils

Your soul they could take

As she overcame

With a song about strange fruit

You must overcome

With a love that stays true

I say to you again

You must move on

Whether it be a blessing or a curse

There’s the living to attend to

Whether they be a blessing or a curse

I wrote this poem in explaining the story of another poem by the name of "How to Watch Your Brother Die" by Michael Lassell. My writing explains that when death (the boy that builds coffins) takes one brother that the other sibling must carry on with life. There was also a reference to Billie Holiday's song Strange Fruit in the second stanza. The words "in the mourning" was meant to mean not only mourning, but also when you wake up in the morning. Also, the seven devils are referencing the seven deadly sins which are always around you, sometimes closer than you think.