When One Has Outlived Most Of His Friends

. . . the living and the dead

Young and old, gather where they are brought

            Robert Pinsky, “The Garden”

 

  

 

God of passages, the two faces of Janus see only

The past and the future, ignoring for the moment

The moment itself: the two entries of this church

Being both apposite and opposite, the departed

Brought to the rear door, through the sacristy,

And laid to rest in front of the altar, and those

Who are entering from the front and along

The long aisles, gathering in twos and threes

In each row as though each grief were separate

And unshareable.  One will speak in resplendent

Words and vestments of faith in what is to come 

Each death only makes us doubt, and someone

Will rise and recall the past as though only there

Is the certainty of all we know and can believe in,

Albinoni's Adagio In G Minor, our separate silences,

Praying to be anywhere but the present moment.





Poetry by countryfog
Read 636 times
Written on 2013-08-25 at 16:35

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Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Well said, Fog. For my part, most of the people I have seen off into the afterlife, including my father, were worn out and ready to leave. For them, death was a welcome end to a life which had become unbearable. Under such circumstances, there is no reason to grieve.
2013-08-28


josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
On Saturday I held my four hour old granddaughter Layla in my arms and was speechless at the miracle that is her. I have also been witness to the miracle of so many close friends, dead now, who have enriched my life in ways I could not have ever imagined. All are the skeins of the tapistry of my existance, Layla being the newest and forever the brightest. Your beautifully poignant poem draws all these thoughts into one clear and gentle moment of reflection. Thank you for providing that.

Joe
2013-08-27



So many people who have entered into my life are gone now. They and my experiences on this whirling ball in the endless universe remain a part of me and I feel grateful to have known them even if for such a short time. Someday, someone will grieve for me as well and hopefully remember me with fondness.

How well you've expressed the rites of birth and dying--both painful affairs, but with a little luck so much love of life in between.
2013-08-25


shells
I liked this piece though I wasn't sure why, except that I have been there too many times. Two lines stood out for me, "as though each grief were separate" and the final line, so maybe I do know why.
2013-08-25


Elle The PoetBay support member heart!
I feel bad that I have inadvertently given a reserved feel to this site, for me, I had to share in someone's death and I am in a muddle - yet I read this and I hope people will read this because it gave me a comfort and, well, thank you

Elle
2013-08-25