Monday, December 12, 2011

The Deal with Death



Death drew its scythe,
Slashed the air,
Absorbed the warmth,
But Tim refused to budge.
Not yet, he said.
Then when? Death drawled.
Whenwhite flowers grow
On trees in early Spring
And there’s the slightest chill,
But still the sun, warming just enough
Yet not too much. And I am old;
Stretched too far across my years,
Feeling thin while at the same time wide.
Knowing that my blood and words live on
Though I cannot.  I’ll be ready then.
Death laughed, smiling through
The empty void within its cloak.
Deal, it said, you’ll be ready then
And I’ll be there.
Tim shook the bony hand
As Death diminished.
He left his bed in tears
Of joy, walking home to see
His family; healthy, whole,
With years and years ahead of him.
Graduations, great-great grandchildren,
Weddings, kisses in the rain were his.
Rolling in the autumn leaves gave way
To making snow angels, putting up the
Christmas tree. But spring was just around
The corner and Tim knew it.
White flowers grew
On trees as he felt the slightest chill,
But still the sun, warming just enough
Yet not too much. And he was old;
Stretched too far across his years,
Feeling thin while at the same time wide.
It’s time, he thought. But where is death?
The hooded specter was nowhere to be seen.
Tim shrugged and started walking toward
The woods. He never noticed he had left
His body far behind.

12 comments:

  1. Nicely composed. Loved every line. :) Great read :) Nice image too. ;)

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  2. Thanks, Shreya. I loved every line of your comment ;)

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  3. And very glad to visit inside your head..you have a very strong writing voice..like a firm hand shake with death (but in a good way)..thanks for following..Jae

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  4. full of suspense and broodiness....
    I like this genre of poetry(something different from relationships,nature etc..)
    I also write ! and u and a few others have inspired me to write on this mysterious theme of death..when I do,i'll attach inspirational credits...keep writing friend... :)

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  5. Ah, wow.

    People with me in the room agreed:

    Nicely done!

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  6. Jaerose: Thank you so much! That's such an inspiring thing to hear :)

    Rohit: I do plenty on relationship and nature too ;) Can't wait to check out what you've wrote!

    Jack: You're raisin' the roof! Like a gangsta version of raising that is, not dehydrated grapes.

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  7. what a beautiful poem, please post more I love reading your work x

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  8. Ben you are such a great writer...you took me from hoping death would wait...until his gentle arrival..

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  9. You are brilliant!!! This one is another of my favorites *its ok, i have arms the size of texas to carry all of them* I give it a 10 out of 10 for making me think of my grandmother...and crying...just a little.

    Btw, Coke Light is basically diet coke. We used to have coke zero but then coke light kind of made that redundant (wth?)

    My question: what's a hick?

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  10. Kelly: Will do! Thanks for your kind encouragement.

    Susie: Thank you so much, Susie. Makes me want to keep writing :)

    Punk/Clarissa: My grandmother went through a lot too; emphysema :/ I wonder why they don't just have good ol' Diet Coke though hmm. I wrote out the Ben Ditmars New Standard Edition definition for hick on your blog ;)

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  11. This is a brillant poem Ben, I got goose bumps on the last line...thank you1

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  12. Oh, wow, very honored to provoke such feeling :)

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You've found your way inside my head and now there's no way out!