the man in black

the man in black

in my childhood 

     I thought often about the man in black

the kids kept their guard to behave well in their presence

some of them were young 

     and some were old

the grey hair or lack of it separated the flock

we watched them from the schoolyard playgrounds

sometimes they would walk alone

but they never appeared lonely

always deep in thought

they had a gentle manner 

     but always darning a stern appearance

assisting the congregation with the joys and struggles of life

    was not an easy task

i can't remember when one of them 

     doused my forehead with holy water

but i certainly can remember my first communion

rather than drown me 

     the man in black offered me a snack

it was the body of Jesus

it didn’t have much of a taste 

my dry mouth made Jesus hard to swallow and stomach

but after an Our Father and praying for millions of dollars 

     I felt much better

My mother made sure my knees were attached to the kneeler 

     for as long as possible

she must of thought I was a mass sinner

in any event 

     it saved an ear pulling

that's why Catholics have two different sized ears

when the mass was over

     the man in black would always greet the exiting flock 

     by the church’s front doors

he looked pretty regal in the satin albs

but Sunday lunch, fresh La Stella bread and 

     the ensuing family get together 

     made the communion host look pretty bland

later in life

     confirmation was to follow

this was the moment you got  

     the everlasting saturday night fever suit

call it the sacrament of puberty for non-Catholics

Jesus must get a kick out of this ritual

     and why not

young men and women discovering the orgasm

unknowingly readying themselves for marriage

teenagers prepped themselves for martyrdom  

     earlier in the good 'ole days

we didn't wait for freedom 55, 

     the dog, the convertible and maybe the spouse

finding love was more important than finding success

oddly when you found love 

     success seemed to follow

you have to ask

     what happened to love

the present times appear to have lost it

not even a one hundred dollar reward for its whereabouts

all I know is that I made Father Mario a bet 

     and by the end of the ceremony I won

he thought I was going to stutter and stumble 

     at the thought of an “I do”

instead i did what I had to do

i smiled at Telly Savalas looking for my $50.00 bill

yup, Mario was the bald guy and 

      the spitting image of Telly

the men in black have a great sense of humour

      and like a stiff drink at funerals

i just hope they stick around

     for Mankind''s next chapter

i can’t tell you about the last leg of my life

I only know that the ones I love will be at my side

provided of course my will includes their names 

with the man in black offering me the last rites

and so will Jesus 

     reminding me He was the dry host I complained about

     and that He's now the master of ceremonies

thank you,

joseph pede