Black.

Everyone was wearing black

and everyone was quiet and everyone gasped

when they saw the coffin because it was empty.

The smell of sorrow,

the aroma of despair,

the shriveling of noses at the reek of regret.

Tears.

Everyone lamented over the empty

coffin even though nothing was there.

Nothing was there, but like

the dying embers in the dark of the night, a lot of things

had passed away.