"Toss His Ashes"

 

 

                "Toss His Ashes"

 

So long buried... beneath six feet of clay,

Watching those that cry...listening to what they say.

Seeing the hands place flowers, at his feet;

Funny...flowers never came, when his heart did beat!

 

Being visited more now than when alive on the earth.

Faces reflecting...just what one soul is worth.

Some kneel and pray...and then petition for his soul;

Not even knowing...Christ lived inside, when he was whole.

 

Everyone speaking in quietly...low hushed voices.

He would have heard them long ago is given a choice.

Why cry now...when he was overlooked for so long?

Does visiting the graveyard...help to right old wrongs?

 

Tears and flowers, lay them on the grave and read the name;

Let a few teardrops fall...pray...and say ..you are so glad you came.

Forgetting all of the years...he suffered in pure neglect;

Looking at the tombstone,,,do you wonder and reflect?

 

Love does not enter a heart...that is dead and gone.

Voices mean nothing...he would rather lie alone.

When he needed kindness...not one soul was there;

No one to say "I love you" or to say" I do care."

 

Do not lay cut flowers...to whither at his feet;

When you cared so little...when his heart did beat.

Do not weep and pray...when you never really cared,

If you had loved him...your time...you would have shared.

 

Just toss his ashes, and no graveyard...lie him in;

When his soul...was alive...where were you then?

 

    Valentine

Reviews

[Mary]

Marie, I like how you signed this one "Valentine." People visit gravesites for so many reasons I think. Guilt? to make themselves feel better? genuine remorse at the awareness of the permanence of death and what it has really cost? Lots to think about in this poem. Thank you for posting it.

[Leslie Philibert]

A thought provoking poem, written with a lot of care. Good work.

[Michael G.]

Well written thoughts that many should pause and ponder. You have given much to think about here. I seldom ever go to graveyards. The person who was put to rest there, never really was there.
Excellent write.

[Valentine]

MICHAEL, WHEN i GO TO mICHIGAN ..[HOME] the first place my sister takes me is to the graveyard..I tell her I do not want to go there..but it never fails..in we go..I do not like going either..Kathie

[Marie]

When I was a little girl going to visit the cemetary was considered some kind of a treat...I honestly don't know why...

[Michael G.]

It was the same with me, Marie.
I think it had to do with the pace of life and the respect and the love for the one's past. Markers, family plots needed the families personal touch. And most were buried back then. Today, I'm afraid we are "much too busy." Having said that, I wonder how that makes us as a society?

[Marie]

Eager to get on with life rathr than death.

[Michael G.]

I think you said that well.

[Coyote Poetry]

A sad and beautiful poem. I told my wife. I want no grave. Toss me in Lake Superior or one of the great oceans. I like the description in the poem. Death allowed us to wonder many things.
"Do not lay cut flowers...to whither at his feet;
When you cared so little...when his heart did beat.
Do not weep and pray...when you never really cared,
If you had loved him...your time...you would have shared."
Thank you for the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Valentine]

Thank you..my husbands feelings too..Kathie

[Adam Whitworth]

well done 5

[Fabian G. Franklin]

" I hate graveyards and old pawn shops...for they always bring me tears...I can't forgive the way they've robbed me..of my childhood souvenirs" John Prine

[David Lewis Paget]

Very true, I have experienced the same thing in my own family. This lack of care moved me to write 'A Canticle for Wakeman'. Too late, too late, but perhaps we can learn from this.

[Ellen Hammond]

Wow! This is a very thought provoking poem that says in different layers, that which needs to be heard. As a floral designer living in a small community I noticed that most often those who ordered the biggest, showiest, funeral arrangements were the ones who never bothered to spend their time with the deceased. Well said!