Life And Death. Poem by Michael Walker
Life And Death.
I know, or I think I know, where I was born.
New Plymouth, a city with two sprawling cemeteries,
where I found my grandparents' gravestones at last,
but they were covered in gray lichen and moss.
The kindly sexton said she would spray the gravestones
and I will go back to see them cleaned and clarified.
My grandparents were always there for me.
My grandfather taught me table manners, sternly.
He and I used to watch the cricket at Pukekura Park
then we would wander around the lake,
seeing the sleek canoes gliding on the surface.
I loved to hear the fountain playing on and off.
I thought that death may not be the end,
when I found their graves last weekend.
-15 June,2016.
The phrase 'death is not the end' is the title of a song by Bob Dylan on his album 'Down In The Groove'(1988) . The song moves me and why not let Dylan have the last word on the subject?
I think that a sudden ending is better than a predictable one. It stays in the mind longer. Dylan's song 'Death Is Not The End' is a sublime song to me. Thanks for your comment.
Life is mysterious in this Earth. Birth determines the certainty of death and this is truth in life. But you are true. Death is not the end of life rather this brings fortune of new life. Very interesting and amazing this poem is. Nice sharing. Congratulations! ..10
This poem was Poem Of the Day in 2016. Congratulations.
"Death is not the end", reminded me of Bob Dylan. Then I saw your note and found the reference in it too. Lovely poem. Thank you for making me recall Bob and his songs
(part 3) I like to tell people that I was born in a bank. I say that my mother went there and made a deposit, and sometimes they ask 'Don't you mean a withdrawal? '
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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12/14/2024 2:04:05 PM # 1.0.0
Michael, This is one of my favorite poems of yours. I visit my grandparents graves when I visit Minnesota in the summer's. I miss them so.
I miss my grandparents after all these years, I hope to meet them again one day. (I revised this poem-a few changes) .