At The Age for This

Too many deaths, too many funerals, so much so Im giving them the slip

I'm at the age for this

The funerals: all to common now
I dont go to them all anymore

To commiserate with strangers

Let them know I was there

Who do not care who I am 

Or that I was or wasnt

But thats our tradition

The Irish way.

Then the news came

Another passed over

The three day wonder long since passed.

The one I would have wanted to be at

Though, as an outsider

In the circumstances

It may not have been welcome.

A silent prayer

Unspoken words

Sincere desire

That my friend recently passed

An all the others

Know peace.

* Listening to a Man Discuss a Friends Death

* Let Death Have for You No Fear

* Death on a Traintrack

Reviews

[Nisreen]

What a wonderful way to say goodbye

i guess i somewhat share your opinion on funerals
yes its a tradition

but at the same time what is best to do for someone who is gone
is to pray and never forget that person

not one day will pass lost without their memory

[ms. barrie]

beautiful, melancholic, touching write, written with eloquence.
Thank you for sharing (:

[V]

Sad, melancholic but also really well written. A pleasure to read.

[Einstein Noodle]

yes ..peace ... i am also at that age; but quite frankly have been to far too many send offs while in my 30-40's ... nothing recently tho....old childhood friends are still laughing and playing ... i suppose not having a lot of "friends" helps ;) ... your poem spotlights my back of the mind acknowledgement that we will start dropping like flies soon ... and i wonder who it will be .. i am so grateful for the teaching that tells us only trust and faith in Jesus the Savior will help at that moment .. all of us simply too shabby to be allowed to pass on our own merit ... my oldest living relative will be 109 this year ..she lives at home with moderate assistance ... gives me hope that i have another half many more years to go .. :))
E.

[David Scott]

Death is part of this life at any age...
There is a time however when we find a vivid awareness of death's proximity.
The only meaningful gift we can offer is comfort to the living.
I found the write very tender and empathetic.

[softlyfall]

My father was Irish, my mother first generation Welsh...when my father died, we all cried, wore our somber greys and blacks and then, God respected, had one helluva party, just like my daddy would have wanted.
I am always excited to dive into one pf your poems. There is so much cultural feel and fact in them, personal and universal.

[alifeacoustic]

Brilliantly captured and heartfelt words. It is a quandary whether we are any help to the bereaved at such ties, or just another face they have to meet and accept condolences from, while inwardly they are torn apart from loss. As you so eloquently stated, we can only hope that they have found peace and remember them for what they meant to us.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i lost several close friends way back at an early age--really traumatic---nowadays, when i lose people i know, it reminds me of how life is precious and ephemeral ....and that i am getting medicare and soon social...and soon after that maybe making arrangements.

[Samuel Dickens]

I think I know this sadness of which you speak. Paying respects like you, I missed one that was important. Still, I think we can honour them with our thoughts and prayers.