On The Shelf Life Of Spirits

For Buddhists it’s Forty Days
Unless you are a hungry ghost
For which you need help from wandering,

For Christians it’s Three
Unless you are climbing Mount Purgatory
In which you need prayer,

For Jews it is always midnight
In the sleep of Sheol
Where you wait for the Dawn,

In Islam it is until
The Trumpet blows twice
To herald the Judgement Day,

For agnostics it’s when
Someone you don’t recognize
Taps you on the shoulder,

For atheists it’s the sound
Of your footsteps stopping
Halfway up the stairs.