The Interment of the Ashes They waited a year Let him have one more birthday Cremation, though abrupt, buys you time. You can keep an urn close Hold on to the remains of your son Till the howling madness has passed And some peace is resurrected from the ashes Enough at least to go on with. In the pause before we walk back to our cars His father takes up the spade again Not satisfied with the arrangement of the soil. He bends down to brush the stray crumbs From the plaque that summarises his son As if smoothing a…