Dressing a Corpse

The auburn powdery earth,

since his birth, it has touched his skin.

He breathed it, ate it with his food,

drank it with his water and wine.

Soon it will cover his body completely. 

This man, who herded pigs,

wandering over the dust of the scrubland,  

he asked for nothing in his life,

and received very little.

He asks this of you, dress his corpse.

You will pull creased wool trousers over his stiffened legs.

You will roll him on his side

to pull on the sleeves of a pure white dress shirt. 

You will button him into it. 

After he is laid in the ground,

a repast will be served. 

A suckling pig from his herd

will be slaughtered and roasted

And you will join the village feast.