A bright, sprightly codger (six score and three)
imparted the secret of longevity —
a bounty of beans in a bowl of clam chowder
with a liberal sprinkling of ancient black powder.
His wisdom was rumoured through town and beyond
until crowds talked all day of the chow that belonged
on the table of one who could mock the grim reaper
with a scythe-dodging snack — a definite keeper!
His recipe worked until one moonlit night
while eating his supper he felt not quite right,
and Death defied chowder, gunpowder and all
as the bright, sprightly codger succumbed to his call.
He left behind flocks of bereft kith and kin,
a palatial abode for his clan to live in,
a trove of antiques and a thriving emporium
and a forty foot hole — once the town’s crematorium!