Goodbye

The last goodbye

There they lay,

The final insult.

A six foot f*****g hole in the ground.

Shouldn't they be higher?

Raised into the clouds?

Let them shine like the sun,

not rot in the ground.

History,love,experience,hate,understanding

made this man who he was,

A hero to me.

Sure there were times when he hated me and I hated him,

but I loved him at the same time.

As the snow gathers pace and peppers the edge,

he is lowered into the departure lounge of the afterlife.

That's one thing we are all guaranteed a ticket for.

Reviews

[Gio S.P.]

I love the metaphoric line, "As the snow gathers pace and peppers the edge." Aside from this, the poem lacks nothing. It is very beautifully written and sustains the feeling of anguish for the man being lowered into his grave and the impact it has one the writer. And yet, there is still a story of life behind this death and I love that.

Great work!

[Jay Steitler]

This is a topic quite close to me now. I am having my healthcare scaled back, upon being classified as chronic. When the boom drops, its only a matter of time before I'm taken. This poem captures the seething, and the matter of factness of it all.

[Bob Sherunkle]

Ah jesus Jay,I'm sorry to hear that,truly.

[Jay Steitler]

I've had a decent lot in life. Had a sense that things were closing down around me for a while, anyway. I'll be here a bit longer.

[Bob Sherunkle]

You damn well better be!

[Laura Harrison]

It's a terrible thing, the loss of a loved one and I agree with what you say in this poem

[Bob Sherunkle]

Thank you,just thinking about my old man,and now realise how great he was and this was it,no viking funeral..

[Laura Harrison]

I'm sorry for your loss, my friend. Everybody is great in their own ways :)

[Bob Sherunkle]

Thank you,I'm saving for my Viking funeral,not getting planted!Anyway,time to write something cheery!

[Laura Harrison]

I'll admit, I have no idea what a Viking funeral is but I just googled it and it looks much better than a regular funeral!

[Bob Sherunkle]

Costly and not very eco friendly..but what a blast!I'll probably have enough for some coal and petrol..see how it goes!

[Laura Harrison]

Well, I've always thought that a funeral should be a celebration, and what a celebration a Viking funeral would be!

[Bob Sherunkle]

Yeah,i'll pepper myself in marshmallows,that'll be the buffet!

[Bob Sherunkle]

Thank you Trevor,just got thinking about my Dad the other day.One of those moments..

[Trevor Barnett]

Fantastic poem about the inevitability that awaits us all. But, I really like that you capture the ugliness and beauty of death at the same time.

[h d e rushin]

I read Sharon Olds' "suddenly" this morning for the umpteenth time, just to get the shadows and sounds
of longing. And now this final stanza, where the grave is no greater than a lounge of departure,
that makes us happy even when our sadness can be beautiful.

Nicely constructed.
I will visit again soon,

dana