A FINE AUTUMN DAY

they suck the life out
of the corpse-less dead
filling them with
lurid memorabilia
for the tourists
who walk among the tombstones
of this graveyard city.

from tragedy we gladly inherit
silver from the ole mint farm
to place on the mantel
of the patriotic.

ovine superstition
the poetry of numbers
suicide jacks and
jackson origami:
portents and prophesy
that feed the need to hate and rejoice.

grieving widows spew forth
tearful soliloquies clutching
their orphaned children's faces
on  the covers of magazines.

the voiceless mourners seek not
the velvet backdrop to act out their loss
as the rest enjoy the candlelit festivities
and commemorative stamps.

the looping footage proves
futile as a ghost
the real pain is forgotten
on a fine autumn day.

Reviews

[J.A. Stevens]

very well written and very emotional poem i really enjoyed it

[Melati]

Very well written and expressed. I really like this piece of art. Well done!

[Jack Isaac]

Sounds like Arlington or the like, espcially in how it feels like more of a tourist attraction than a cemetary. The first four lines sums up that notion remarkably well. Intensely well. I am continuously fascinated by your lexicon M. The last four lines wraps up the whole idea in footage, I never considered that before, and it works perfect here. Nicely done.

[...]

. superbly written and expressed ... indeed "real pain is forgotten" ... i have seen that the way the media tends to cover incidents (all over the world) is just bereft of any real emotion ... it's mostly a kind of depiction ... often theatrical even ...

[khalid]

pain is forgotten when we have the will to forget it. make your pain steps on which you climb to reach the highest happiness you deserve. life is too short to stop long at every pain felt. it is normal that the poem is great because a great poet like you can write less than great poems. thanks

[Steve]

This is wonderful...you are extremely talented.

[John Fitzgerald]

very strong write.

the voiceless mourners
seek not the velvet backdrop
to act out their loss

would be a wonderful haiku!

[Kenneth The Poet]

Awesome weave.

[fireblossom]

Odd and lovely. Musty and newborn. Loved it.

[Suze]

What an amazing poem! "the corpse-less dead" - brilliant. You captured the way people twist a tradgedy to their own benefit so well.

I will be reading more of your poetry for sure!