(Note: I am helping LilEnigma judge this challenge, so my entry isn't eligible to win but I couldn't resist entering)
Like the Father, Son and Holy Ghost
the Maiden, Mother, and Crone,
and Birth, Life and Death,
my END will pour threefold
On the first day:
Lie me on a simple slat of wood,
in a room fragranced
by the smoke of Nag Champa
and draped with cloths of purple, blue, and red,
surrounded by fixtures of mixed metal and stone.
There are roses on the walls, one laid on
every seat, and petals spread across the floor
with a sprinkling of tobacco for Legba's quiet guidance.
Prayer candles for Mother Mary, Parvati, and Oshun
must crackle quietly on every open surface.
Cover me with mint, as deemed by Aphrodite,
and place a crown of thornless
Joseph's Coat roses atop my head.
In the background, plays a soundtrack
of delta blues, soulful jazz,
psychedelic rock, ethereal prog-metal,
haunting southern gothic guitar
and the occasional hymn, starting
with Hear My Train A' Comin'
woven with The Parting Glass,
Come Away With Me and
Box Up My Bones, then finished
with Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
Each guest has their choice of mantra or
verse from whatever belief seems
to meet the moment, and must speak it
into my listening ear or tuck the written words
between the roses atop my head.
There will be no speakers, no public declarations
of mourning, reflections of death will be
our secret, sacred bond.
Everyone will leave the viewing with a stone
from my personal collection; may it bring
them luck and snowballing peace.
Dress yourself in clothes that allude
to our favorite memories; as casually or
formally as you please.
On the second day:
A day of silence, of meditation and reflection
in nature--garden, sea, or quiet wood--
and poetry or prose must be written
about whatever comes to mind.
Psychoactive spirit journeys are not required,
but highly recommended.
Collect pieces of the earth in my memory,
but keep them for yourselves on your altars,
your mantles, your ofrendas and your hearts.
And while my loved ones mourn
in the temple of Mother Nature and Father Time,
grace me with fire, burn me with all the flowers
from my service and the holy texts
that frame my skull.
And finally, the third day:
Make a mandala of ash, bone, and
vibrant sand, a careful, colorful
arrangement to remind us of quiet infinity,
of the ebb and flow of the cosmic tide.
Then gently sweep my ashes and sand
and pour them into beads of glass,
one each for my children, one each
for the loves I leave behind, and finally,
one for the Earth, intended to be buried
with the Mother who cradled
me for a century near--
--for I am from the dust
and to dust I shall return.