The Reaper

 Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. Mark Twain

 

I stopped to see my father today

as he lay on his third deathbed

The Reaper visited two times before

but my father refused to play dead

 

"Son he said. Come sit with me

for I feel it my duty to tell

It's not that I have found Heaven

but more over I didn't find Hell"

 

I suppose when a man nears his end

he fears for his immortal soul

My father thought the sins of his youth

would reap him a horrible toll

 

To all of us who have known success

from labors and pains endured

It isn't the end that fills our hearts

it's by the journey that we are cured

 

For a man knows nothing if not that

as he learns from life's long way

Through troubles faced and overcome

strength and character grows each day

It doesn't matter which God you believe

nor which Heaven your bus runs to

Grow your faith in your fellow man

and perhaps he can go there too

 

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Author's Note

Out from the black of eternal night shone a ray of light!

Reviews

[lee von cleef]

How can I review, when you start out with Mark Twain staring me down? Will Rodgers he would of been easier,
or a wild thought Zappa, "Joe's Garage". You leave no room Fathers yours and mine have the edge, they could read,and not just books,Men , they would measure,the moment, the time, the gap in the man at the end of the hand,pressure, depth of eye,their force was knowing of the part out of line, by grace they would live and accept from others what they would not from you. The Bar was high for all, but we placed ours in our fathers will.

[Tate Morgan]

How apropos that you would mention the hand pressure i remember teaching little Drake the boy I adore to shake hands I told him how a man judges anothers character in a hand shake. We went to his school then that day to meet his teacher he shook his hand. The teacher turned to me and said Man what a grip this boy has. Lol The smile on little Drakes face was priceless!

[lee von cleef]

lesson they don't teach anymore.

[Tate Morgan]

How true I remember after that his other saying I never knew drake needed a man in his life till you came along up till then he pushed every man who got near me away suddenly you come along and he can't get enough I remember at seven him in the other room telling her if you don't marry Tate you will suffer my wrath lol he said you don't get it he is the only man whom loves me the rest all talk to me to get to you Tate comes here to see me as much as you how true that was

[Tate Morgan]

Children know they see right through facades they say what they feel

[Marie Anzalone]

A piece brimming with quiet wisdom. How much of life is spent in judgment of others, ruminating endlessly on disappointments and failures, even more fervently on mistakes? For we lift ourselves when we raise up others, but that seems quite lost on us, truly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here with us. I don;t know if the events described are based in truth, but if so, the speaker was a man who passed on with grace.

[Domo]

My words cannot describe the beauty of this poem. Great job, and I truly loved this poem.

[Bud]

This is Beautifully Profound! Personally, though I am of faith...my own I suppose one would say, I believe that we carry both Heaven and Hell within our hearts. Can't say what's beyond, haven't been there...yet. So, I concur with your last stanza. Perhaps one day we'll reach that plateau...
We carry our death bed nestled against our backs, much like a hiker has a backpack, adding to the weight as we go through life. Some adding more quickly than others. To some degree we regulate just how much weight is added. Somewhere within our thoughts and conscience we know the whole way what is generally thought of only during the moment of laying back on that bed we carry. At which time the burden of it all becomes all too apparent...it was there the whole time. Allotted and accounted for. All the good and wrongs to others. What we did and didn't do out of the goodness of heart, not gain. It is all there recorded on our backs. One means helps one to stand tall, while another causes one to slouch over. Standing tall is accomplished only by support and guidance, whilst slouching and crooking over is a result of our burdensome selfish ways. It is a long lost and forgotten duty or ours, as human beings, to help our fellow mankind stand tall, not add to their burdens. Each is more than capable and quite successful in that task all by themselves. Some seem to believe that the measure of success is how far up that monetary line you go in life, but in the end it ends. I believe a life's success is how many can one touch and make a positive difference for them while they're here. Rest assured, though I think it unimportant, that you will be remembered by those...even if they have been long forgotten. One never forgets anything that has made a life altering impact on their life...whether it be positive or negative. Hopefully positive.
Ok, lol here I go writing a novel. I'll leave it at that. True to form, an Excellent work of art, Tate!

[linley{luu}]

"It's by the journey that we are cured."
Very true indeed.

"But my father refused to stay dead."
This line reminded me of a friend I have who talks about his 90-some grandfather in that way.

This is very well written, nice use of imagery. I think everyone gets alittle conflicted about where their soul goes after they die. I know I do.

Nice piece!

Linley

[VintageHottie]

"It's not that I have found Heaven."
"But more over I didn't find Hell."
I loved this!!! Sometimes I get very conflicted as to where my soul will reside after my body dies, and I loved how you wrote these lines. They give me some hope that even if I'm not sure as to where I may end up, as long as I don't find hell, maybe I'm saved afterall! :)

"To all of us who have known success.
From labors and pains endured.
It isn't the end that fills our hearts.
It's by the journey that we are cured."
So, so true.... Hopefully, like you stated, we can help eachother find that journey/pathway and light it up so that it is easy to see and follow...

Lovely write ;)

[ABitBrokenPoetry]

very deep & thought-provoking. of course the rhyme flow is perfect & there's alot of emotion behind this piece. most of us go through life without ever really taking time to enjoy it, for one reason or another, & we don't realize that until we are at the end of it. a gorgeous, sad, & wonderful poem.

[Marla V]

I love tales of the reaper. I love how you wrote it. Nothing needs to change about it as far as I am concerned. If your poems were published, I'd buy your book...it's so much life breathing in the meaning of what you write. M V

[~LeeAnn~]

Wow...only one word to describe it.

[Hannah Monttkomepy]

I love how you rhyme your stuff. It truly beautiful how you do it. I think this was an emotional piece to write but it didn't really make me wanna cry. I think you had more of a message to get engraved in people's heads than mess with being emotional. Very nicely done.

[The Wave]

amazing.
how is it you can write something so ...amazing?

it left me speechless after reading it. and then i felt i had to read it again and again soon after. its good and i liked the way you ended this whole in-depth thought with a question. its the type of writing that makes you really ponder over for the rest of the night.
great job.