Death's memento mori

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw today

Death's memento mori

he laughed at me, with

a grinning decay.

His shadowed hands,

eclipsing my verve.

I began to drift,

to see the unheard.

 

My vital force           

displace in his world

I awoke................

And I stood to behold,

Death's wealthy estate.

Material goods,

and souls without fate.

All of this merchandised

and scattered out straight.

 

Then suddenly.........

 

He gave out a SHOUT!

 

"Choose" he said.

"But choose wisely!"

 

He began

to showcase before me

an interesting meal

hot off an offering plate.

A devil's pact, seasoned

with silver and gold,

representing the covenant,

waiting to be sold.

 

And this is what I saw:

 

A tree of life

demoralized

sprouting with fear.

 

My daughter of eight

as a replacement

for one more year.

 

A return to earth

as a paralytic

mute

and deaf in the ear.

 

Death seemed annoyed

as I turned in disgust.

My eyes slowly drew over

to a carpenter's cup,

covered in time

covered in dust.

 

"Give that to me, " I cried.

 

"I need to drink it!"

 

"I must! "

 

Death showed me the cup.

Inside I saw

the holy grail,

filled with a sweet elixir.

 

I could see the sacrificial lamb

I could see the fountain of life.

 

Death said,

 

"It's too late to drink from this cup."

 

He grabbed it away.................

 

"Pick your plate."

 

"You had your chance!"

 

"You're mine now!"

 

"Wake up!"

 

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, it is ironic...we can claim a disbelief in a supreme being...in heaven and hell...but as death draws nearer...even as we age and see the possibility of our mortality..

there comes this fear we cannot always explain..but we know what it is don't we.

this is a terrific write..a terrific battle between good and evil...and between belief and atheism.

jacob

[Muse]

Wanna hear something ironic? A talented writer by the name of Rick Puetter helped me rewrite this, and he has told me on more than one occasion...that he is athiest. And it was he...that dared me to push the envelope.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you pushed it, stamped it and sent it...

that is interesting...

[Muse]

it shows that Rick has character.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, it does.

[Muse]

he's not on my friend's list anymore...his intellegence, way over my head. But..I respect him.

[Forest Green]

The mood of darkness is palpable in this poem, with 'death' spreading out his wares and offerings with the terminal consequences revealed rather vaguely, yet decidedly. This or that, choose your fate...so the insistence on immediate gratification is presented without a hint of concern on his part.

This has nice overtones of a nightmare mixed with quiet, corner-gratifying thoughts of what the eternal future might hold for a rather decent individual. Nice conflict, excellent tension throughout...!

[OT]

ah great write! love the story - and your word choices - the rhythm gives it a nice kick to glide us along! nice job!

[Dayran]

An inferno it is not, but a return to making decisions for someone who didn't run away in fear. Death is also associated with the identities of the Thanatos and the Anteros. Both serve a role ( eventually) to rescue the fallen eros. Keep the pulse on the game.

Must have been quite an experience!

[Brad Nugent]

Very nice write, Muse. Tells a dramatic and terror filled cautionary tale with style.

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Startling..............amazing write. Very well penned! Creates imagery in the mind that I don't think I want to live.........excellent!

[Chris]

Nothing is ever like a touch of mortality to awaken a paused heart.

Chris

[Jeremy Baker]

Wow - stand out horror and darkness.

[roy mccarthy]

wow,holy crap,
muse this reminds me of sylvia plath,anne sexton....
but even better than those poems they wrote,
full of darkness and awareness at the same time,
too many great lines in this to quote
so ill just save it to my favourites.....

[Tom Chan]

it's simply amazing.