Life Eternal
Life Eternal
Her fingers were speckled like
brown chicken’s eggs.
They felt both hard and soft,
sticks in tissue paper.
Her veins were ruptured; rivers
on a decaying landscape.
The room was hot and dark
and smelled of ancient secrets.
Granny’s smell; I wrinkled my nose.
She tried to smile through
her agony, to make me less
afraid as I fidgeted in the chair.
“Be a good boy for your mother”
Her gossamer voice, barely audible
had reached across time and touched me.
“She needs you son, look after her”
I nodded, bewildered by this mystery
but full of dreadful wonder.
“Are you dying Nanny?” Sotto voce.
“Mummy says for me to kiss you”
“Come then son, kiss me on the cheek”
I was hesitant and afraid. She lifted my
child’s hand and gently touched it
with bloodless yet tender lips.
“Are you dying Nanny? I don’t want
you to die” The tears welled unbidden.
“No my child. How can I die when
I live on through you, my beautiful
Grandson. My life is rich, and eternal.”
I did not understand and was uncertain.
Next day brought an empty bed and
and a world of empty hearts.
Now a lifetime on, it is I in the room
waiting for the circle to turn.
I drift in morphine haze and
pray my Granddaughter will understand
I hear the tiny tap on the door and
try to smile so she is not afraid.
She enters, thumb in mouth
and I want to cry for her. I try
to speak but can only croak. I
reach out and see that my fingers
are like brown speckled eggs
Archie Wilson
About this poem
The circle of life
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Written on June 14, 2012
Submitted by Arch2306 on October 15, 2023
- 1:38 min read
- 51 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AXBXCDX XXXEXX CAFCFC BEXGXX XHHAAH IXXHIX IXXGGDB H |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,535 |
Words | 329 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 2 |
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"Life Eternal" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/172990/life-eternal>.
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