I laugh at your presence.
What did you think was the end?
Here you stand,
Poring over my paltry scribblings,
Asking each other, “Why?
Why?”
What was the point
Of his living
If he was going to die like this?
Does he have nothing to show for it?
No final aphorisms,
Which we may quote until the end of age,
No abiding wisdom
To point out to his grandchildren
And say
“Look! Look! Look how he loved you!”
Now you overlook my body
And attempt to pour my soul into the grave
But alas, alas,
My soul is not there.
I have no last words,
For I am still living.
I wait for your laughter,
For you to realize
That death does not kill you.
Realize that a simple glance
Above the altar
Reveals that it did not work.
I am still alive.
I am still alive,
Damn it!
No God or Devil has come
To take me away
Or to kindly
Send me off to sleep
And scatter my ashes
So that the beasts of the world
May consume the body
That I so gladly give them.
My dying breath
Is far better spent
Praying to this deceitful God
Who promises
Prosperity in death
Than given to the living
Who absurdly mourn for one
Who does not die.
I collapse
To my sullen knees
And pray for them,
These poor misguided people
Who think that dying is for the dead
And that last words can reflect
The entirety of one
Who has lived.
Why do you yearn for them so?
I have said enough.
I have lived enough.
If you look over my life
Piece by piece
You will find nothing
That stands out all alone
All is a puzzle, a puzzle
That is me, what I once was and am,
All together telling the world
That this was someone who has lived.
No piece could be broken off
To be saved for the finality
No, I said all I was
Before I felt the fear
That I was dying,
That I had not said enough.
I am not afraid of dying
I only fear
That I have lived too long
And I have said too much
And I will exist forever
No, last words are not for me.
I bitterly laugh at your tears
As you cover my grave
With the good, clean soil
That you fear my soul is buried in
And that I wish might be the truth.
But instead I must live on
Regretting nothing
But wishing that dying were for the dead
That death might cradle me in sleep
That one day
My aching thoughts
Might truly be my last.
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125,020 Literary Works • 672,861 Reviews
Hello! I like this poem very much, and its subject, death, which is a very complex matter to expose, is exploited quite well; Indeed, everyone does talk about God bringing us to Heaven, or the Devil that drags us to hell, but this poem says something different, the idea that death does not truly mean leaving forever. And, like you told Odysseus310, it is narrated by the point of view by a person who committed suicide, a person who embraced death, which gives a very interesting point of view of things. It's as if the narrator is disappointed in the living for believing that death if final. I especially like:
"I wait for your laughter,
For you to realize
That death does not kill you"
It exposes very well the idea that, as long as someone remembers you, you are still alive inside the hearts of people who remember the dead.
I also like the the subtle hints that he committed suicide, they are given so that you realize that he committed suicide without even noticing you did, perhaps the one that makes you see it is:
"[the body] That I so gladly give them."
I Hope that his helps you!
Wow, this poem is very dark. I daresay as dark as the grave??? Heh, only kidding. Truly last words are for the living, for those in the grave cannot enjoy them, can they? It almost seemed as though the speaker, the poet, were raging against everything for dying: first against the priest and the family at his funeral, then God and demons and finally everyone still living on the earth. Whoa. Whoa! Amazing and depressing; all the poet wants is to be forgotten. Judging by his outlook as he screams silently from the coffin, I wouldn't be surprised if he killed himself in the first place....
Your poem reminded me of a song lyric:
"Those who are dead, are not dead, they're just living in my head." ~ Coldplay, "42"
I would recommend any who read and enjoy this poem also listen to this song, or at the very least read the lyrics to "42" afterward.
Thank you very much for the review. Yes, he did kill himself; I tried to leave some clues without being too open about it. One of the 'last words' I read was Kurt Cobain's suicide note, and that partially gave me the inspiration for this.
I don't really listen to much Coldplay, but I'll check the lyrics out - thanks!
hey there
ok , so firt off i wanna say that i realy liked your work , it's brilliant , i loved how you started this poem , it was strong .
I laugh at your presence.
What did you think was the end?
Here you stand,
Poring over my paltry scribblings,
Asking each other, “Why?
Why?”
What was the point
Of his living
If he was going to die like this?
and i love the conclusion too , it's expressive .
And that I wish might be the truth.
But instead I must live on
Regretting nothing
But wishing that dying were for the dead
That death might cradle me in sleep
That one day
My aching thoughts
Might truly be my last.
so keep writing
Thank you so much! I can't believe how many people like this - thank you so very much! It really does mean so much to me.
you are so welcome
Hey!
MarS
I should tell you, you are wonderful, like WONDERFUL.
This is perhaps something I can not imagine to write. Because this is so beautiful, and describing death of a loved one that too so gracefully, is beyond my scope.
I love that one common idea throughout, ''sometimes death doesn't seem to scare, but what's more horrifying is to live''.
Your poem lacked no such thing that I should mention. It's simply brilliant!
My favourite lines are:
"I am still alive.
I am still alive,
Damn it!
No God or Devil has come
To take me away
Or to kindly
Send me off to sleep
And scatter my ashes
So that the beasts of the world
May consume the body
That I so gladly give them"
My, my, this piece is breathtaking!
Splendid.
Stay as wonderful you already are!!
Greetings,
Thank you very much! I am so, so glad you liked it. I know I've said this many times, but I truly do appreciate that all of you took the time to review my work, and that you enjoy it so much. I just don't know how else to say it, haha. Thank you so much. ^^
Farah here! I'm here to review your poem.
I honestly have no corrections to make. This poem really spoke to me. I mean, it is true, you can not simply judge a person by his/her last words, but at the same time, last words tell us a lot about a person. You can never truly know a person through their last words though. But sometimes, that's all you've got to be able to hold on to. The memory that you have of them. The entire concept is so intriguing, and I have to admit, I got a little emotional after the first two stanzas.
The flow was great, and the way you concocted the whole poem was amazing.
On a different note, have you read "looking for Alaska" by John Green? You reminded me of the protagonist of the story, who used to memorize people's last words.
First, thank you very much for your words. Wow... I've never had someone describe a poem that way to me. It means so much to me that it meant so much to you.
I'm honestly not sure what I think of the concept of last words - it is so intriguing, and there are many questions you could explore about them. It was great fun to explore some of the questions with this work.
Yes, indeed I have read that book - I loved it very much, and the last words were something I really enjoyed about it. It is a shame to me that last words can never really be proven to be true, but this poem asks, "Does it really matter?" You described it well, that they can mean so little, but mean so much when they are all you know of them.
Again, thank you so much. I don't know how to express (hah! a poet at a loss for words!) how much your comment meant to me. I am so glad that it could speak to someone. It is... just amazing, and humbling, to know that one's words can move another's heart. Of course, it is one thing I aim to do, but the idea still just astounds me. xD Thank you. ^_^
I am honoured that my review meant so much to you. And the fact that you read the book, and appreciate such details, and of course your writing style really makes me want to read more of your stuff. So I'm following you. Looking forward to reading MORE!
Oh, thank you very much! I hope I shall not disappoint you. xD