Never told Nursery Rhymes

Uncle Jon's Wake

They have put Uncle Jon

in a funny old room,

when I asked them what for,

they said it was his tomb,

and I simply could not fathom why.

So I crawled on inside,

though I was not allowed,

there I saw his gaunt face,

poking out from a shroud,

and no sound came from him, not a sigh.

And it didn't feel right,

he looked just like a doll,

and his skin was all grey,

like they'd sucked out his soul,

when I saw it, I started to cry.

They have told me since then,

it was Jon's corpse I saw,

I did not realise since

I'd not seen death before,

I'd grow used to it as years went by.

I have seen bodies since,

even piles, or a throng,

but there's one tiny thing,

that still seems very wrong.

Uncle stood. Shouldn't all corpses lie?