'A U-Haul for the Filthy Rich' by Donal Mahoney

​A U-Haul for the Filthy Rich
 
Long ago you said birth and death
were the bookends of life.
Nothing before. Nothing after.
 
We were saplings at the time.
Since then we’ve made a lot of money. 
But now we’re ancient oaks toppling
 
toward that second bookend.
A storm could take us down any day
so let’s put our gold in a U-Haul
 
and attach it to the hearse.
If there’s nothing on the other side,
we’ll still have the gold with us
 
unless the poor find out and dig it up.
And if there’s something after death
at least the gold, unlike us, won't burn.
 
 
Donal Mahoney