Rework of 'A New Year's Funeral' - is it better?

The stumbling fool carries his prayer book

Confident up over the chipped stone step,

Torn pages doling comfort,

Smothering grief as required by His love.

Quoting custom, mumbling winter’s return,

Losing his way among the stones and psalms,

A young things’ modern elegy,

Covers with a veil maddening incompetence,

But he calls right the snow that will chill buried bones,

And cause the church cat to put off its hunting,

Measuring the days in life filled sleep,

Until it’s over.

20 Feb 2012

New Year Funeral

The stumbling fool carries his prayer book

Confidently over the chipped stone step,

From broken pages ministered comfort

Falls on grief as required by contract.

His supervisory over-sight, fails

Far from the coal-face, lets indolent words

Scatter careless thoughts, dumps soil by the road.

Mawkish young things in modern tears praised him

Placing a veil over others’ silence.

The fool said custom foretold fair and bright,

And while most unspecified words are false,

Winter has returned to chill buried bones

And the churchyard cat has put off hunting.

Of yesterday’s tomorrow, what remains?