Easter is here again
Time to review those projects
I use to deflect the raw horror
The black fear of death
My death—not yours
Your death is abstract
And easy to swallow
But my death looms large
Empty and hollow
So what can I do?
What monument can I leave?
My children will live after me
But within a few generations
I will be just a name on a list
Kept by descendants I don’t know
My art will endure
My ideas
My work
My great society
My scriptures
My churches and temples
These might remain as timeless
Testament that I was really here
Should I sacrifice my life
To building these?
There is no guarantee
That any of these will endure
Nor will I escape my end
Perhaps I should choose carefully
Projects that bring joy and peace
To my here and my now
For this timeless moment
Seems to be my only eternity
All those things I try to leave behind
No matter how solid
No matter how grand
Can not protect
You or me from death
They are just immortality projects
Happy Easter, time to be reborn
Resurrect your spirit
And inhabit the eternal
Just Now
Like a chocolate rabbit
Waiting to be discovered
And hungrily devoured
By a laughing child
Time to review those projects
I use to deflect the raw horror
The black fear of death
My death—not yours
Your death is abstract
And easy to swallow
But my death looms large
Empty and hollow
So what can I do?
What monument can I leave?
My children will live after me
But within a few generations
I will be just a name on a list
Kept by descendants I don’t know
My art will endure
My ideas
My work
My great society
My scriptures
My churches and temples
These might remain as timeless
Testament that I was really here
Should I sacrifice my life
To building these?
There is no guarantee
That any of these will endure
Nor will I escape my end
Perhaps I should choose carefully
Projects that bring joy and peace
To my here and my now
For this timeless moment
Seems to be my only eternity
All those things I try to leave behind
No matter how solid
No matter how grand
Can not protect
You or me from death
They are just immortality projects
Happy Easter, time to be reborn
Resurrect your spirit
And inhabit the eternal
Just Now
Like a chocolate rabbit
Waiting to be discovered
And hungrily devoured
By a laughing child
1 comment:
i love this poem so much. it really touched me. i read it the day you wrote it and i've been thinking about it ever since. it brings up many issues i've been exploring in my own life. thank you.
and your tribute to KV is very touching, too.
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