After the Fact
The people of my time are
passing away: my
Wife is baking for a funeral, a 60-year old who
Wife is baking for a funeral, a 60-year old who
Died suddenly, when the
phone rings, and it’s
Ruth we care so much about in intensive care:
Ruth we care so much about in intensive care:
It was once weddings that
came so thick and
Fast, and then, first babies, such a hullabaloo:
Fast, and then, first babies, such a hullabaloo:
Now, it’s this and that and
the other and somebody
Else gone or on the brink: well, we never
Else gone or on the brink: well, we never
Thought we would live
forever (although we did)
And now it looks like we won’t: some of us
And now it looks like we won’t: some of us
Are losing a leg to
diabetes, some don’t know
What they went downstairs for, some know that
What they went downstairs for, some know that
A hired watchful person is
around, some like
To touch the cane tip into something steady,
To touch the cane tip into something steady,
So nice: we have already
lost so many,
Brushed the loss of ourselves ourselves: our
Brushed the loss of ourselves ourselves: our
Address books for so long a
slow scramble now
Are palimpsests, scribbles and scratches: our
Are palimpsests, scribbles and scratches: our
Index cards for Christmases,
birthdays,
Halloweens drop clean away into sympathies:
Halloweens drop clean away into sympathies:
At the same time we are
getting used to so
Many leaving, we are hanging on with a grip
Many leaving, we are hanging on with a grip
To the ones left: we are not
giving up on the
Congestive heart failures or brain tumors, on
Congestive heart failures or brain tumors, on
The nice old men left in
empty houses or on
The widows who decided to travel a lot: we
The widows who decided to travel a lot: we
Think the sun may shine
someday when we’ll
Drink wine together and think of what used to
Drink wine together and think of what used to
Be: until we die we will
remember every
Single thing, recall every word, love every
Single thing, recall every word, love every
Loss: then we will, as we
must, leave it to
Others to love, love that can grow brighter
Others to love, love that can grow brighter
And deeper till the very
end, gaining strength
And getting more precious all the way….
And getting more precious all the way….
~ A. R. Ammons
~
(Epoch)
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