Death: In Poetry

An odd little write...written in dead of night

Death: In Poetry

(A silent song)

By

Carlos Lorenzo Estrada 

Where hides death

Beneath the shoals of limerick 

In sea of turquoise discontent 

Far within an absent heart

to breed beneath its broken parts

Where lies death

Beyond a tiny mote of dust

Tethered to our hate and lust

To feel atrophy inside

Withered in our pride 

Where walks death 

In tangent dreams of flight and fall

bereft of sorrow, joy, or calm

Within these memories of past

In friendships which never last 

Where speaks death

Within the silence of our mind

That hide the heartbreaks of our crime

In the destruction we left behind

Of our apathy so unkind 

Where lives death

In all the mysteries never known

Within callous heart made of stone 

It dances to a song of despair 

yet sings to a melody that lingers in air

Where is death...when needed

Author's Note

Wish I had a cool story about how this piece came to exist, but I promised death I would keep it to myself. CLE

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

In the circle of life, death has a major role. Often feared, but never avoided, it has a huge impact on life! Very interesting write, Carlos. Lydi**

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me Lydi. I really appreciate it. I feel this poem could have been a lot longer, but for my sanity and state of mind it was best to keep it as short as possible. It is never a good idea to dwell on such a subject for too long. These moments in life are too short to waste them on the inevitable. I feel it's the reason why we don't see it in everyday life because we are too busy living. Which is the way it should be. Death is all encompassing, and we should give very little of our waking moments to it. Of course the last line of this piece was written in jest and felt a bit like Garfield the cat wisdom. Thank you so much again for your review.

[Stuart Munro]

Fantastic poem , I like ,where lives Death , Yeh! Death is always alive , it never dies itself

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

You are absolutely correct in your assessment, Stuart. Death lives in everything. It truly knows us on a deeper personal level. Thank you kindly for sharing your thoughts with me. I really appreciate it.

[Soren]

I love poems that ask questions and then answer them in the next stanza. This is wonderful in that most people think of death as physical, but it is so much more and so much less. Death is nothing more than an ending of a particular phase be it life, friendship, or any relationship. This poem requires many readings for each stanza contains so many possible thoughts. Very moving, particularly the chilling last line

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you Soren for sharing your thoughts on this poem. Your words capture the exact meaning I was trying to define about death. It truly is in all things. We begin its procession the second we are born, and I would argue even at conception. We just fail to see it because life holds sway over much of our time. We are too busy living to sit and contemplate death around us. With exception to us writers who tend to see the world differently and are more intuitive to such things. Though if I have to be honest I wouldn't recommend that one spend their time dwelling on such a subject for too long. Because once the mind is set on such a thing it is difficult to shake loose from such thoughts. Thank you so much again for sharing this comment with me.

[Stella Armour]

Death, always portrayed as dark and fearsome and yet it is important in the circle of life no less than joy and hope ..... there has to be in all things a balance..

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

That is so very true. Let all gods have immortality; I would rather be human. For I know love more intimately than they do, as well as death. Things have more meaning because moments are more fleeting. Without the balance between all things they would lose their beauty and relevance. We are lucky to love more in our short time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I really appreciate it.

[Stella Armour]

i enjoyed the thoughts your words evoked to be honest Carlos ...... :)

[Coyote Poetry]

The mystery of death Carlos. I believe death is just a beginning of a new journey. I liked the thoughts create by your statements on the poetry. A lot of us had danced with death. We don't fear her. We will accept her when our time is finished. Thank you for sharing the amazing poetry and your thoughts.
Coyote

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

I totally agree with you on your thoughts my friend. The older I get the more of a friendship I seem to have with death. Not in the morbid context but more unafraid and accepting its eventuality. Thank you again my friend.

[Coyote Poetry]

Hello my friend and you are welcome Carlos.

[Betty Hermelee]

It seem that you made death come to life...where does it walk...in so many places....it lays, it walks, it speaks...You speak of death in poetry... understanding that death is omnipresent; it ultimately takes all of us down....where does it live? in dark mysterious, secret places; the secrets of death are always in our minds, kept to ourselves...Since death is essentially all over the place, where is it when needed??? great ending Carlos!
Best, B

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you so much B for your insight and encouraging words. I kind of wanted to give it that Garfield the cat pessimistic ending comment because of the subject and theme of the piece. I had a bit of playful meandering muses to the heavy ideas of death. Hoping the words would elicit thoughts in the readers mind where they themselves may feel death lurks. And to playfully shoo it away, or acknowledge its ever encompassing presence. Thank as always B for your kind comment.

[Betty Hermelee]

You're very welcome Carlos!
Best, B

[Vertigo Cat1111]

Some secrets are best kept to yourself. I loved this poem and the title. It really is Death In Poetry. There are so many ways things die, and so many things that can die. Friendship, love, friends, family, pets. Instant deaths, slow, drifting apart a huge blow up fight. Death has such mysterious ways of killing, and I love how you delivered this. ‘Where is death, when needed?’ A very great ending line. Thank you for sharing.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you so much VC. I almost felt that ending was a bit too much of Garfield the Cat commentary, but it really did fit with the overall arching theme of the poem. A bit of dark humor. And I totally agree with your insightful thoughts about death. She definitely is in everything. Thank you so much again.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Maybe best to keep death's secrets. Death of friendships, death of friends...they die in different ways.
I really like this piece...tripped a little over the line "where lays death"
Wanted to change
"lays" to "lies"----
but I like death as the personified subject, much like Dickinson always did.
"that hide the heartbreaks of our mind" a line I wish I had written.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

You are not alone in the wish my friend. It is a powerful line that make many a writer envious of Dickinson. You are absolutely correct in "lays". I often have difficulty not just proofreading such words but also utilizing them in my writing. Death as a subject or archetype has always been fascinating, confounding, and spiritual enlightening to me as a writer. I can never get enough of the grim reaper. Unfortunately, that may be a bit of an unhealthy reverence on my part. To fixate on death instead of doing some actual living kind of defeats the purpose why we are in this world. Though I'm sure old Shakespeare would quibble with me a bit about that and Poe would most assuredly agree with him. I don't know if it's just me but sometimes I feel the need to balance my writing. Like I will create a bit of happy fluff and start on a long theme of writings about love. Then I find myself looking back and saying "dude, you need to balance out your stuff because you sound way too optimistic". I guess what I'm getting at is death seems to balance me as an artist. Centers my mind. Much like my muse. Who in all honesty does have a bit of that death vibe anyway. I apologize my friend all this talk has left me in the mood for some Led Zeppelin, and a bit of Bowie after. Thank you as always J, I value your thoughts and helpful writers eyes.