Understanding Death

I stopped by a gas station today
In some remote piece of the world
It had a sign hanging in the window
Best donuts in the county it read
 
Nothing like some comfort food  
When you're in my condition so
I stopped in for a few...
 
Shortly after pulling out a funeral
Parade was coming up behind me
As is customary, I pulled over with  
My flashers for them, some 90 cars  
Long...
 
When you feel alone, you tend to  
gravitate towards others to mitigate
The feeling, so I followed them to
A nearby cemetery
 
Looking as out of place as I did
Them in suits and dresses
Me in two day old sweats and  
Greasy fingers from the doughnuts
 
I made the conscientious decision
To stand at a grave within earshot
Alberta Thurman was the name
She died on my 26th birthday
 
Something about that resonated with me
So I dropped to my knees and closed my eyes
I began to listen to the nearby funeral
He was some highschool athlete which
would explain why most people there
We're half my age...
 
I've never quite understood death, at  
least not in the same way that others do
It's life's one absolute certainty
One which we all must face eventually
 
But as I occasionally looked on the crying
masses, it finally clicked in my head as  
To why they were all so sad, just like me
It wasn't the loss of a friend, a lover, or a
Family member that they were crying for
 
It was the loss of part of themselves...
 
I began to weep uncontrollably as the
Waves of emotions from all the past  
Funerals crash into me at once
The many pieces of myself that have  
Been torn apart and left me empty
 
What felt like mere moments had apparently
Been quite some time as I felt a warm embrace
From a hand on my shoulder, the mother who  
Had just lost her son...
 
She asked if this was my grandmother
To which I out of pure panic said yes
She offered me a hug and a tissue for  
My tears, then politely asked me to move
My car, as I looked up and hundreds of people
We're patiently waiting for me to find peace...