Looking Back

Inspired by M.C Escher's Hand With Reflecting Sphere

The lern'd man sits 

in the last few minutes of his life

and looks

into the paperweight

it was a gift from his wife

God rest her

from when her got his first real desk job

in it now he sees himself

reflected back

in great detail he saw

every story the spots on his skin told

the scar

on his forehead

from his brother

and a grade school pencil

the lines 

around his eyes 

left there

by long forgotten smiles

he saw himself

becoming a man

in the gray hairs from his beard

the deep gash

from when his 

infant daughter

enraged with hunger, scratched him so hard he bled

yes

he saw

everything

Every mark

and

Every memory

they brought back

And so he spent

his last moments looking,

living,

backwards. 

 

Reviews

[Frank]

This is an excellent theme, old people should enjoy this as it is so relevant to them.

The lern'd man sits - [I don't know why you contract 'learned man']
in the last few minutes of his life
and looks
into the paperweight
it was a gift from his wife [suggestion: given as a gift from his wife]
God rest her
from when her got his first real desk job [from the time he got his first real desk job]

in it now he sees himself
reflected back
in great detail he saw [consistency: sees not saw]
every story the spots on his skin told [every spot a story told on his skin]

the scar
on his forehead
from his brother
and a grade school pencil [engraved by his brother wielding a pencil]

the lines
around his eyes
left there
by long forgotten smiles [excellent stanza, really enjoyed this]

he saw himself
becoming a man
in the gray hairs from his beard [British English is grey hairs, not sure of American]

the deep gash [doubt a baby can leave a deep gash, but now t would be a scar]
from when his
infant daughter
enraged with hunger, scratched him so hard he bled [scratched him so he bled]

yes
he saw [you switch from present continuous to past]
everything

Every mark
and
Every memory
they brought back [omit they]

And so he spent [he spent]
his last moments looking,
living,
backwards. [in the past]

The future for the old is death, so the alternative for them is to relive their lives by us of memory. It is a great comfort for them. In his last years my dad told me so much of what was formerly unknown to me of my family, I loved it and my dad loved the retelling.

[Vincent Eguakun]

I like how this poem feels like a story.