when all is said and done

Thoughts on the meaning of our existence!

when all is said and done

 

when all is said and done

his final beat and final thought

extinguished

and long we may reflect,

on how we will gauge this man

his dates, of no moment

his earthly span, brief

the barest bones of what he was

his details, sparse and dry

the indisputable facts

carved sharp upon the stone

 

here lies William Brown

born 4^th July 1976

died 23^rd January 2013

son of Thomas and Mary Brown

 

but where lay that man we knew?

his weft and warp of daily passage

secreted deep within

his hopes and kindnesses

his loves and passions

his creativity and imagination

his patience and generosity

 

perhaps his lesson is for us all

where does a man exist?

lives he sole within himself

a house of fickle memoirs

built on shifting sands

 

no, we are much more

we endure in the memories of others

part of us, begat from parent to child

we ‘are’ in our dreams, truths buried deeply

we endure in what we create

in words, in images, in artefacts

 

not one of these, but all

make us what we are,

and will be!

 

Reviews

[barleygirl]

WOW! This feels like the kind of reminiscing one might do as we walk thru a graveyard & reflect on the barest of details available, trying to guess what kind of person lies beneath & what kind of life they might've lived. I think it's very relatable & straight out of human nature to ponder these things. It's too bad we don't spend more time on such pondering while people are still alive & might enjoy spinning a yarn with us to flesh out the basic details from a gravestone. Such thoughts of mortality are hitting us all as we live thru a time of abundant mass casualties worldwide. It can be numbing, but your poem reminds us to honor each life lost . . . *sigh!* (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[alanwgraham]

Thanks for your wise comments. I have been to several funerals in the last few weeks and these always give you pause for thought. Also I suppose because I've had some ongoing health problems this year(neither of them too serious) you begin to realise your own mortality. I hope you are keeping well yourself.
Regards, Alan

[Mirror]

here lies William Brown
born 4th July 1976
died 23rd January 2013
son of Thomas and Mary Brown


Beautiful.

[alanwgraham]

Thanks mirror. I know it is a bit melancholy but two recent tragic deaths of friends made me think hard.
Regards,
Alan

[Tony Jordan]

We affect many - merely by being and perhaps with or without knowing.
I too wonder as I read the gravestones of yesteryear, of the lives behind the engraved letters.

This poem caused flux in my pessimistic mood today Alan. I love the eloquence, the layout and the flow. I am at odds with some of the content - some people leave no trace. Others will be remembered for 100 years (3 or 4 generations, at most) and the 'tip of the iceberg few' will be remembered for millennia.
The lottery continues from birth - beyond death.

My fav piece by you Al.

[alanwgraham]

Thanks Tony for your kind comments. I fully agree with your observations. This writing came out of two very sad deaths that touched me in the last week. One , a running friend who returned home to find that her husband had taken her life and the second an old friend with long mental health problems whose death had passed unmarked. These things do make you think!
Regards.
Alan