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I Sit With Death on a Park Bench
by Fredrich MohreI sit and enjoy the sun;
Warmed by the rays, deep into my bones.
The melodious soup of bird twitter.
Fragrance of cherry blossoms permeates.
For a short time, I am at peace
..
.Peace, suddenly suspended by his presence.
He sits
.
Death sits beside me.
His cowl and robe, drab and ragged,
His demeanor, stoic.
.he sits.
He breathes
..
He breathes with the sounds of death:
Rasping
rattling
.he breathes.
He smells of all that is death:
Stagnation, tobacco, gunpowder,
Burnt flesh, smoke, rancid blood;
All the malodor that is death.
.he sits
..
I am not fazed. I speak,
Lord Death, I presume?
.He sits
.
Yeeessssss he intones, with a grating hiss.
I smile, in a short moment of inner reflection.
Have you come for me? I query.
He sits
.as if stolidly pondering.
Not for the moment, he rasps.
It is of little matter, specter, for I fear thee not.
He sits
in silent musing.
Strange
most do, comes the raucous reply.
Not I, woeful messenger, not I.
For I have seen your handiwork, at my elbow.
You have stood at my shoulder, many times before;
And I have no fear of you. I remark.
He sits
and utters a woeful chuckle.
Oh yes
I too remember, old warrior
Thou hast brought a few souls my way also,
As I recall
Yes I reply, as if in confessional, Yes I have.
And it has long since given me no peace, ominous one.
He sits
.as if reflecting on his lifeless life.
Peace will find you
.someday he whispers.
I assure you, my friend, peace will come.
As Deaths tone softened, the threadbare cowl slipped.
I saw no vision of bone or emaciated flesh.
A face of beauty and youth, I beheld.
A face of femininity and adolescence.
Skin ivory white. Lips, lamenting and wistful.
Beautiful dark eyes, brimming with great sadness.
Ethereal messenger, why is thy glorious beauty hidden?
You are not the malignant wraith that one assumes.
She sits
.
No troubled one, I have never been one to fear.
My beauty is peace, kind Sir, unrelenting peace.
A single tear wells from her alluring eye,
As her delicate hand emerges.
With angelic fingers, she strokes my cheek.
I shudder in the exquisite softness,
And the sensuality of her caress
Peace envelops
.long forgotten peace
.
I sat
with
death
on a
parkbe
..
04/01/2005 Posted on 04/01/2005
Copyright © 2024 Fredrich Mohre
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Mary Ellen Smith on 04/02/05 at 05:22 AM Wow...what a wonderful contrast of concepts here...beautifully written. |
| Posted by Madeline Pestolesi on 04/05/05 at 10:01 PM Oh Death, you tricky devil! This is very good, like all your others. I really like the twist at the end, very nice |
| Posted by Leonard M Hawkes on 04/12/05 at 04:42 AM Something about this reminds me of the German poem "Death and the Maiden." Hauntingly well done! |
| Posted by Brett Shane on 04/19/05 at 05:17 AM amazing.... one of my favourites for sure |
| Posted by Carl Walker on 06/12/05 at 09:11 PM in the telling, the story beckons and seduces, till the end is lost sight of; until the end ambushes, wonderfully written, one of my new favorites |
| Posted by Jeffrey Parren on 07/22/05 at 02:55 PM an incredible piece, with very good form and easy to follow dialogue with foreshadowing to boot! +fav ~JPP |
| Posted by Jersey D Gibson on 10/15/06 at 04:10 PM I wrote a few death poems just like this one, now i'm thinking of reposting them! For some reason, when I see Death, I think of Neil Gaiman |
| Posted by Maria Francesca on 04/10/07 at 01:33 AM This is fantastic; imaginative and original. my POTD vote. great read! -maria. |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 03/04/09 at 03:15 PM For some strange inexplicable reason, I like reading things with the personification of death. One of my favorite movies is "death Takes A Holiday". Very well done. good read! |
| Posted by Carol Grant on 08/13/10 at 12:48 AM Love the ending...strong endings are my pet peeve..;most poems are will written til the end. I was not disappointed. Thank your for sharing. |
| Posted by Kristine Briese on 07/24/11 at 05:55 PM What a wonderful concept. Beautiful. |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 07/26/11 at 03:20 PM Oho! Crafty Death. Well done. |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 07/27/11 at 08:51 PM ...cool write, fred. |
| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 04/14/12 at 12:50 AM How calming and unique. I am elated that I found this. Especially now. This story is like eavesdropping in on one of our most precious moments in all time. |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 08/06/13 at 06:37 PM Good to see this as POTD! |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 08/06/13 at 11:01 PM Interesting concept, unique and refreshing twist to the visual cliché, with a spiritual lesson, or perhaps better, timely reminder that Death isn`t so bad after all, and to be welcomed at its time and place. |
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