February 04, 2004: -Burke O'Brien-

Descriptive Essay
Marty Burke 8-B

A cousin; an athlete, a friend, a Burke, lying in his best clothes, blue-green eyes not seeing the friends, the family closest to him, coming to see him for the last time. Sadness and gloom fill the chamber in which he lay. Roses surround him in this bleak and dreary chamber. Pain in the faces of the ones whom he loved; suffering visible in all who kneel before him, saying one last goodbye to a wonderful young man that was so close to their hearts.

The walls; morose, creating a sense of melancholy in all its similarity. The furniture; dour, uninviting, oppressive. Pictures fill this room, telling tales of a life, however transient it may seem, that had been full of happiness, friends, and love.

His clothes seem depressing in the sullen environment of the funeral parlor, blues mixing with the attitudes of those present. His cold hands are folded drably atop one another, as if in prayer. Atop soft sheets of satin like snow in a box of polished wood, he lies, waiting for the next relative, bosom friend, or even acquaintance, to come forth to pray for him.

His face is serene; he is in peace now, as if earthly troubles, pains, and desires are now beyond his charge. His expression is composed, radiating a peace that can only come from those who lie in the polished wooden carrier that is lined with the pure, white fabric.

His skin, the waxy complexion is a semblance of the attitude of those present. In the way he lies in his porter, he reflects a certain inner placidity that is not seen in those who have not truly accomplished the tranquility of heart that this man did. His eyes, closed, as if he were asleep; peaceable to those who love him, to see that he is now untroubled, free from pain.

-Burke O’Brien-
When through one man
a little more love
and goodness,
a little more light
and truth
come into the world-
then that man’s life
has had meaning.