The Undertaker

About a man who we all need at some point in our lives to see us through to the next world....

Blessed is the man who shrouds the dead with peace
He who prepares them for their final path
Who hides blemishes of pain and disease
And gives infants of afterlife their bath

No smile attempts to kiss his austere lips
No tear does to his visage sorrow give
From the chalice of Forbearance he sips
Death feeds him and he is content to live

He seeks not heaven and he seeks not hell
He has no ear for visions of the Fates
He gives not Death but only rings the knell
He gives not afterlife but opens gates

He dies, he is interred and then he sees
The Holy gates to which he held the keys

Reviews

[Writer #00]

Simply beautiful, yet I also read this with a tad of pity for the undertaker. The second paragraph acknowledges the desensitization those frequently exposed to death may experience. Losing, or having dampened, such a capacity is something that I find quite tragic.

--Random though inspired by the above...I guess that's not too random, then: if the undertaker holds the key to the afterlife, would those waiting for the undertaker to dress and beautify their bodies be in a temporary state of purgatory? If so, then where are those bodies that have been lost in war or vaporized (somehow)? Can they never move on because the undertaker cannot grant passage to that which he does not possess?

eschatology / 100

[Augustus]

Thank you for your review! You've raised some very interesting points. Well, whether the undertaker holds the key to heaven is as debatable as whether a place called heaven exists in the first place! What I am talking about is society's perception of his profession. And his profession is about burying people the "proper" way, which is in a way to prepare them for afterlife. So it isn't about whether soldiers who die on the battlefield can go to heaven or not, but about the perceived role of the undertaker in society.

[Writer #00]

Don't worry, you conveyed your message well; I just felt like reading it in a slightly more surreal light...because I'm weird. I saw both meanings and assumed the one that you mentioned was the one that was in mind at the conception of this poem. : )

[Sara]

yes, when i was looking through your stuff a couple of days ago, i saw this poem and was kind of intimidated by it, it was so grimly polished... i think you approach your description of 'the undertaker' with as much respect and reverence as he gives his subjects... a grand, but sobering read...

[Devons]

This poem shines a light of charming awareness upon one of the anonymous and forgotten stoic characters of our world. What goes on in the confines of this shrouded world is a mystery which many dare not hope to imagine. And though his fastidious attentions are given with a dis-affectionate professionalism, this lyrical dedication to the existence of these occupational virtues is conveyed with a sense of gratitude and spiritual honour. The imagery is particularly notable:
"Who hides blemishes of pain and disease
And gives infants of afterlife their bath"
..The tragic state of death and circumstances are given an ethereal and beautiful sheen within these lines; and with a philosophical sensibility, they forbear the grief and horror of life's finality.
Although this man is ultimately a functionary of life's 'dirty work', it does take a certain reputable and commendable nature to do such work; and the poem shows us how this occupation should be rightly rewarded in his own death.
A concisely crafted, and highly-skilled piece of poetry, its cameo of hidden life producing a lasting impression.

[An owl on the moon]

In your words we find a vast landscape of sensation.. time and timelessness... void and fullness... present time and eternity. You create a powerful feeling of life and its depth of experience. Beautiful, vivid language!