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Death Visits the House Again
Death Visits the House Again
Somewhere in the Milky Way, if that close,
or in a billowing rainbow-hued galactic cloud
a billion light years off
the Lord of all the Universe
has received the daily tally of the dead
on planet Earth
the special piece of real estate
he has treasured all these years.
As I turn my car onto my street and note
the movements of my neighbors
I think a resurrection
of black ribbons marking the homes of mourning
would be good.
I would like my neighbors to remark
that death has visited again
this house
to murmur perhaps among themselves
we have been hit again so soon
and marvel at our fortitude or grief.
Let them notice, let someone notice
our great strength
and let them bring food
thankful that it wasn’t them.
14 comments:
Hi, I am thinking of you, the time to heal is so short.
I will bring food if I can.
Dianne
oh this was heart stirring...bringing food yeah i think of that too...and i suppose maybe it does make one thankful...
sorry.
Oh, I am sorry, Chris. I'm thinking of you...
I bring food to those I love who have lost ... it is the solace of the heart and the sharing of it that helps us to notice. Much like wearing black, or marking our doors to let others know that we are not in a place where we can be our fully present selves. I understand this post fully and thank you deeply for writing it.
Food is such an expression of love - or curiosity, or thank goodness I can do this so I don't have to be really present. Or maybe it's just that way in the south.
I love your poem - and I agree that a black ribbon would be good. So that maybe there might be respect of that space in the world, for just a minute.
Death and birth and the continuity of all that is.
Grieve and eat, accepting the gift of life as you deal with loss and may you find the redemption that is also a part of the continuum.
What is going on, Chris?
So very sad, yet beautiful, Chris. I think it is a wonderful tradition to bring food. One can hardly think of cooking, or eating, really, when grieving, but it is easier to take a bite if something is there for you.
Your words have a truth though. People are thankful that it wasn't them or theirs. Sympathetic yes, but thankful too.
It is a southern tradition to bring food to the house of the bereaved. And I suppose we all are glad that we are not the ones touched by death at that moment.
again, chris? truly? again? and now you are ill also...
thank you so much for coming to find me. shame on me. i gathered my skirts and ran getting blog of note and running from the nameless hordes!
warmest hugs, as though that might be something to gather you warmer.
i'd have come and found you sooner or later. i'm glad it was sooner. (thank you)
be well - xo
erin
I've often wondered at our society's insistence that we keep death quiet and only whisper our grief. When I leave this plane, I want a sendoff that echos to the world that I will be missed and that I might have made a difference.
♥namaste♥
"Ohh" was my instant reaction to this...
Is that a photo of your own plum blossom? Plum is the flower of winter in traditional Chinese painting... symbolic of life in the midst of dormancy and death. with every good wish, G
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