Dead People’s Stuff for sale

Don’t you worry. The dead don’t mind.
It’s all about utility. Hurry! Hurry!
               Sale! Step right up!
We got what you need right here!
Get yer very own WWII medal!
How ‘bout a Nazi helmet? How ‘bout
a bible? – remember religion? Old
black and whites of this very church,
where the dead were confirmed
               and wedded.
Don’t be shy? Come on in – See
silk napkins with old style skip stitching.
Fine work, I tell ya. They don’t make it
that way no more. Yea, I knew ‘em.
              Fine family!
I recall the funeral procession where
no one showed up, their home emptied
and all their belongings gifted to us
and now we bring it to you.
               That’s why we’re here.
Step right up! Sale of the century.
Every item must go! Jewelry, we got
fine stone jewelry worn by the matriarchs
               of yesteryear.
Don’t you worry about any contamination.
That kind of witchcraft hooey is old hat.
Forget all that superstitious nonsense!
               We got men’s hats!

Dead People’s Stuff for sale

Women’s hats, old bonnets and silver hairpins.
Here’s an item: an steel chastity belt worn by
the head of the household and passed down
               through three generations.
The dead left all this behind on account of
where they have gone there have no need
for all these things. But us? Life is for the livin,’
               darlin’ don’t ya know.
This stuff is history, one of a kind, collector items
Down here or up there, either way – They don’t
traffic in money or jewels! They don’t own fine
china or silverware. They are freed from their
               material needs,
They walk around invisibly naked, having
the time of their life, but that don’t mean
we should neglect our needs. Why not grab
yourself a pair of shoes, a wide black belt,
a deck of cards signed by the queen? There’s a
miniature stiletto letter opener. You think dead
people go to these kind of sales? No they don’t,
               but they do
wander around inside your homes, taking
what they want, leaving behind an old stamp
               or a defunct coin.
It’s all part of the great exchange between them
and us. Worry not! Fear not! The dead walk
among us, borrowing here, stealing there, they
take on impulse, putting it back sometime later,
               or not at all.
Step right up! Yes that shawl was still in the package,
never opened, a real find! Go ahead! Go ahead,
               try it on!