a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Saturday, September 28, 2013

My Death

Join the fun and do something different for dVerse~Poets Pub and Poetry Pantry. Read many talented poets.
MY DEATH

I wanted to be ashes
To fly in the wind
Or flow to the sea

Instead you boxed me
Inviting people to look
That rarely saw me alive

Mouthing empty platitudes
Pretending they cared
In your mourning you believed

"Oh, how natural she looks,"
When I just looked dead
Or like a bad mannequin

That life insurance was
To help you live
Not to paint a public picture of my death

As the possible second wives
Hug you leaving traces of perfume
They do the math of what I may have left

Damn it, if you had listened
Only friends would be here
Saying farewell to my ashes

26 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

ooh! i like this a lot!!! very powerful and well written!

Marty said...

Terrific! What many of us probably suspect we'd be thinking.

Willow said...

Farm girls ~ say it like it is ! lol

LilliStJohn said...

Really well written - just bring it all out in the open and put it right there. Terrific poem - says so much and really makes one think :)

MadSnapper said...

this one rates AMAZING! it is just exactly what I have always thought of funerals, if i could write I would have written this. I LOVE IT!!!!! oh nooooooooo I am understanding poetry

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Crazy straight! I feel the same way, but my mother told me I can't go that way. LOL!

Grace said...

That's telling it as is ~ It would be great if we can all fly away as ashes instead of being stared out like the main attraction ~

Irene said...

You better give very clear to understand instructions and make no doubt about what your wishes are and threaten to come back and haunt those who ignore them. Second wives included.

DesertHen said...

Well done! I like it...a lot!

Lynne said...

Excellent . . . I better be ashes, blowing in the wind . . .no empty platitudes please . . .

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

This is such a powerful piece. You have a real gift with words and no one could mistake the intent in this piece. Great work.

revelations said...

loved this...it spoke of things I have mulled over a time or two...

Sketching with Dogs said...

That is brilliant and so often true!
Lynne x

Sumana Roy said...


lol......brilliantly done...

Brian Miller said...

i would def much rather like that in the passing....a little party...to celebrate the life we shared...and no one there because they feel they have to be...

Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

Wow--just loved this! So well done!

ruth said...

I love this... honesty in a wonderful write - if only there were a way to make the so-called living listen and obey the last wishes of their so-called loved ones after they pass

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Ha! Something different and it is way cool to read it!!!!!! I smiled in recognition..........especially the possible second wives swooping in......

ND Mitchell said...

A great premise for a poem-you capture this voice perfectly and really made me think :)

Sandy Livesay said...

Nothing better than being direct
:-)

Mary said...

I really do understand your sentiments in this poem. Really, anyone who does not spend time with me when I am alive does not need to come to any kind of service for me when I am dead!

Anonymous said...

I love what you did with this, Gail. I agree, I don't want that kind of a funeral either. They say funerals are for the survivors. That may be, but please, respect my wishes. Well put. And thanks for letting me know about it. Victoria

janetld said...

I like the straightforward, powerful nature of your poem here - unique and no beating around the bush!

Anonymous said...

a topic we don't often think about but should. heh, it's our send off, right! really enjoyed reading this. :<)

Josie Two Shoes said...

Resounding Amen to this one! We have donated our bodies to science, and when they are finished the remains will be cremated and scattered at our chosen beloved places. No maudlin show of mourners for me, those who never had the time or a kind word for me in life. The cost.. zip, zero, nada. A final act of love.

Susan Anderson said...

Not only do I like this poem, but I agree with it!

=)

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