Poetry corner

Here's a nice poem by Ben Iscatus, known to us from comments. For more of Ben's poems, click here.

 
Moving On

This lifeless body still resembles you,

Though lacking much of what it had before;

Not limbs or organs, not the form we knew,

But attributes an artist seeks to draw,

Like those that add a lustre to the skin

Or those that bring distinction to a face.

These attributes all come from deep within;

For you, they were humility and grace,

A gentle humour and a sense of play.

Not one of them, of course, is physical,

So cannot die or suffer from decay.

To say, “Departed”, then, is sensible.

Your body tells us plainly: you have gone;

Your soul, with all we loved, has now moved on.

Comments

[william]

very nice thanks for sharing.

says much in a litte poem.

[Louise]

What strikes me reading this, and in light of something I was reading yesterday on another site, is how sad it is that many people can have a deep faith, but no sense that their loved ones do live. They don't necessarily disbelieve their faith's promises of the afterlife, but it doesn't seem to offer any comfort.

Ben's poem speaks much more clearly of the sense of the person having left. Not ceased to be - left. Thanks for posting it, Michael.

[Matt Rouge]

Sweet sonnet, thanks!

[Ben]

Many thanks to Michael for posting this and to William, Louise and Matt for their kind comments.

If anyone wants to adapt the sonnet for their dead pet's tombstone, they may wish to alter the rhymes "skin" and "within" to "hide" and "inside", and amend the character traits to fidelity and unconditional love.
;-)

[Louise]

Ben, what a lovely idea!

[dmduncan]

Wonderful!