Let Death Take A Warrior

what came of an hour in session

Let Death Take A Warrior

 

Yeah, I'm  a regular.

This week in session

death came up

as a subject,

as a fear.

She said, "So let's explore

why you're so afraid of death."

(like she isn't?)

 

I culled a memory

from my childhood:

First funeral,

I was six or seven or eight.

I saw Maurice in the casket,

he who used to

bring ice cream,

who gave me that Amelia Earhart book,

(the book that made me dream I could fly)

I looked at his face,

something wrong with his mouth,

something stiff with his lips,

lipstick for color,

not Maurice.

I stood sad, without tears,

I wondered how dying could

do that---

take someone and leave,

make someone go still.

No one asked me what

I wondered,

no one said a thing,

 

but I saw my mother cry.

 

And another thing,

My favorite dog died.

 

I  remember

how the strychnine

made him twitch,

how the spasms jerked his legs,

his back, his chest,

how the poison

reached his breath

and stopped. 

 

(I look away,

I'm not a hero)

 

I remember

how I prayed, 

face to the open sky,

Lifegiver let him live!

I pounded his chest,

three times he returned,

but the fourth blow

brought up vomit I tried to clear,

and he bit,

he bit me hard,

and I bled,

and I cried hard, 

face to the thick sky.

 

No, I won't look away,

I have a scar on my hand.

 

He taught me this:

You go out fighting,

biting with your last breath---

let death take a warrior.

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Satanta was a white german shepherd/samoyed cross, born without a tail (like a manx cat), gentle, loyal, wise......best friend.

Reviews

[L.G. Knight]

He taught me this:

You go out fighting,

biting with your last breath---

let death take a warrior.


I have to tell you those words made the poem.... Awesomely done! I understand what you mean about Maurice when I saw my dad in a casket as a girl I couldn't find a tear to shed because I thought someone made a mistake... I mean he kind of looked like my dad but for the most part he looked like a stranger....

Anyway awesome write this one has GREAT fLOW....

~Frances~

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. It touches my heart tonight as I find myself thinking about my son's death. If you get a chance I'd like you read my poem Never Say Goodbye. Thanks again. Debileah

[Phibby Venable]

I am sorry to be brief. I can only say, excellent!! beautiful, beautiful lines!
and that making someone go still....yes.

[mysticgmekeepr]

We never forget the face of the deaths we have witnessed do we? We spend a lifetime trying to understand what those faces were trying to say in there last moments.
Great last four lines.

[Winter McPherson]

This is heavy. Loved the last verse. Death truly is a mind blowing concept. How something or someone can be here one moment then gone the next. Great poem.

[Jo Anna Bella]

Like a dance, it seems rather simple when the dancers dance, but to try those move, ah, I realize the precision and the difficulty but wonder at the seamless execution. Great Ode to death, nay, to life.

Jo Anna Bella
Poet at Heart

[Shara Faskowitz]

This is a beautiful piece of writing. It's spare and sensual at the same time and that, in my opinion, is not easy to achieve. Your writing is rather restrained and yet there are these strong visual (and other sensory) images throughout. I thought this:

(I look away,
I'm not a hero)

really humanized the whole poem, sort of centers it, and I suspect you knew that when you wrote it because of its placement. You understand, I think from reading this, that the real poetry lies in the little details, those little slices of life that we place no special emphasis on, but woven together--as they are here--present a universal experience. That makes good poetry. I'm glad you reviewed me so that I could discover you. :-)

[Brett Campaigne]

great title.

[faith h.]

Toni, I am so glad I've discovered you here, this is a fantastic introduction to your work. I'll be reading more, absolutely.
I love the flow, the focus and the feelings generated by your youthful take on death and that sly comment "(like she isn't)" that just gives a grin/grim humorous twist to the beginning.
I see my dear friend Lady Raven Spirit has caught your eye as well.

[[untitled]]

This is superb.

[Legion]

This is so profoundly poetic. A great gift you have here. My favorite lines:

"(I look away,

I'm not a hero)"

and

"biting with your last breath---

let death take a warrior."

This has made my favorites list.