POETRY MOVIE: Front Row Tickets, by Maureen Dunn

Voice over by Val Cole

Editor & Visual Design by Adam Bilyea

Produced by Matthew Toffolo

POEM:

A special place is where I sit,
A seat made just for me.
A seat I earned, but never wanted,
While quietly mourning what should be

I take my place in the chair,
It cannot possibly be meant for me.
I sense the eyes of onlookers
While I feel nothing, but grief

They feel something different,
As if they lost a prize.
They fume in the backseat they earned,
While I slump down in mine.

I would give up my seat if I could
I would happily take any other.
But this seat is something I earned
Through the love of another

Now her casket lay closed in front of me
And my phone buzzes in my bag
The salt of my tears sting my lips
As I look to my right and see the face of a sister she once had

Those behind me wonder who I am
And wonder how I earned my spot
Not many sit front row at a funeral
And I’ll tell ya, it takes a lot

So please, don’t waste your time
Pretending to know the dead
Because my best friend is in there
And I know she would be seeing red

Because if you look to the screen above,
You’ll see photos of her with me
For I earned my seat,
You got yours for free

A special place is where I sit
A seat made just for me
Because to sit in the front row,
Means you have a front row ticket for Grief