the a**embly in shades of gray. vaulted ceilings, b***ressed steel. memory"s phantoms, parts when a**embled, accentuate the whole, the hole left behind. filing in one by one, weary grins against the setting sun. nervous laughter, purging emotions. so much time has passed, so much more yet to come. the mania spreads an airborne infection. searching for closure in this open ground. music drones on, images flash by, procession files through into the solitude of night. promises once made fall away like shedding skin piled upon the floor, abandoned and forgotten. disintegration catalyzed by disinterest. self-absorption returns to stasis. the petty, the trivial back to the fore. narcissus regains his stranglehold, ensuring the cycle recurs. everyone"s a liar at a funeral.