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Weekly Poems from Poems For Free: An Epitaph and More

LIFE BLESSED ME WITH A SUNNY DISPOSITION

Life blessed me with a sunny disposition
Even as I lived through terrible storms.
Sport was my passion; justice was my mission.
The world, I thought, was something one reforms.
Embrace it, then, with all your warmth and joy!
Rebel, as I did, for, and not against,
Resolving to create, not to destroy,
Open-armed and loving, not incensed.
Delight, exuberance, a child’s wonder –
Not naively did I these display.
Even though the wide world split asunder,
Yet one needs to live and love and play.

THE YEARS OF GETTING READY ARE NOW OVER

The years of getting ready are now over.
On you now lies the burden of your life.
The teachers that await you will be tougher,
Having need to use you for their wealth.
Even so, you stand upon tall shoulders,
Granted the sweet chance to be prepared,
Ready to assume the work of others,
Anxious for the wind that bears your word.
Do well, my dear one! All my love goes with you
Underneath the rhythm of your day,
An organ tone that will not wane or waver
Though you run through the gates that mark your way,
Exultant in your work as in your play.

IN MOURNING, SEAFOG

In mourning, seafog
Makes small things visible.
Pearls cling to petals.
Pine needles are fringed with glass.
The sea breaks against rocks.
Heaving back, it breaks again.
What does the wild rose know of its beauty?
Have you any idea what you’ve given me?

I WISH MY GRANDMOTHER WERE HERE WITH US

I wish my grandmother were here with us
To see and celebrate this happy day.
I have her in the center of my heart
Just like this special rose in my bouquet.
Whoever catches this, please pass it on
To someone who is part of all you see,
To someone who has sculpted you with love,
Who means as much to you, as she to me.

MY LOVE FOR YOU IS HUNGRY AS THE SEA

My love for you is hungry as the sea:
As turbulent, as tidal, as forlorn;
As deep with unrequited mystery;
As elemental, vast, and tempest-torn.
No mountain is more awesome and enduring;
No moon so full of passion for the light;
No garden more forbidden or alluring;
No watchman more acquainted with the night.
I’ve learned such love leaves me with little pleasure,
Nor does it die from lack of recompense.
It is from birth a precious, haunted treasure,
Long buried just beyond my innocence.
It is a treasure I now offer you:
That you are loved regardless what you do.

FOR US THERE IS NO Death

For us there is no death.
Rest here merely bones.
Around you love’s in flower,
Zero though our breath,
Etched into these stones.
Read and feel its power.

DAN PHILLIPS LIVED A GOLDEN LIFE

Dan Phillips lived a golden life. His years
Were rich as anyone’s, though he died young.
No one lived more, though he did not live long.
His life was large enough to hold our tears.
He had a smile you’d see a mile away.
He took to life like a kid in a candy store.
He was the best of us, and something more,
But he ran out of luck and died one day.
What difference does it make when we are gone
How long we live, or when, like Dan, we fall,
As if life were a mountain we must climb?
Each moment is eternity, sublime
And perfect, like the memory of a song
We know so well one note contains it all.

The Old Curse of Death – Pretty Poems and Wonderful Lies