Erased from Our Nervous Friends: Illustrating the Mastery of Nervousness by Robert S. Carroll. New York, 1919. Courtesy of Project Gutenberg.

her earliest recollection, parts not clear
there were her father, her mother
face so strange, so strange
white cloths, his head, strange faces
not seen before, strange stillness
strange new fear

her father did not move
so quiet, memories blurred
not sure which memories
grown from what she heard
the funeral, never forget
silvered handles, shining coffin
women in black, her touch
the prettiest things ever seen

run away, frightened, empty
her father thrown against a tree
fractured skull
unconscious and buried
shiny coffin, silver handles