Here is another view of the hereafter, this one from the
delightful Stevie Smith:
MRS. SIMPKINS
Mrs. Simpkins never had very much to do
So it occurred to her one day that the Trinity wasn't true
Or at least but a garbled version of the truth
And that things had moved very far since the days of her youth.
So she became a spiritualist and at her very first party
Just to give her a feeling of confidence the spirit spoke
up hearty:
"Since I crossed over dear friends," it said "I'm no different to what I was before
Death's not a separation or alteration or parting, it's just a one-handled door.
We spirits can come back to you if your seance is orthodox
But you can't come over to us until your body's shut in a box.
And this is the great thought I want to leave with you today
You've heard it before but in case you forgot, Death isn't a passing away
It's just a carrying on with friends and relations and brightness,
Only you don't have to bother with sickness and there's no financial tightness."
Mrs. Simpkins went home and told her husband he was a weak-pated fellow
And when he heard the news he turned a daffodil shade of yellow.
"What do you mean, Maria?" he cried, "it can't be true there's no rest
From one's uncles and brothers and sisters nor even the wife of one's breast?"
"It's the truth," Mrs. Simpkins affirmed, "there is no separation
There's a great reunion coming for which this life's but a preparation."
This worked him to such a pitch that he shot himself through the head
And now she has to polish the floors of Westminster County Hall for her daily bread.
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