Some Last Things

A beautiful poem, Sam.

sam, completely sublime, your language is your own, as is your voice, though the dispassionate regret and grief does remind me of Auden's poem about a boy falling from the sky.

Yes. This is beautiful... Graceful.

"he's prayed deep / into the hole of his aching, but that's not how it ends —

in a hush, in the beetle's scratching at the baseboard, / a bullfrog's croaking from the dark rocks in his pond, / his cane leaning against the opened window"

Sam, this is a beautiful, eloquent, elegy for your father. The ending is profound in the way that its images process emotion. Only a true poet could have seen that the rocks were dark and the window was open.
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Your poetry is always beautiful to me. This one is beyond that, Sam. You are a good man and a fine poet. Your dad had one of the most interesting and transcendent faces I have ever had the pleasure to see. He simply glowed with inner goodness and strength. I am truly sorry for your loss.*

This is beautiful. I'm so glad you wrote it, Sam. I'm sorry for your loss.

Beautiful. My father died this year. I still don't have the words. I'm sorry for your loss they say, but each one is different. Fave *.

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Wonderful poem, Sam. I especially love this part --

"his voice is the wild thud

of trees falling oceans from here in cool shimmers

of rain..."

and that final image, the tiny and important images of the beetle, the toad, the cane. Marvellous. What a beautiful, mournful last poem to post, if this is the last of the year.

* and then some...

Great poem, Sam. I love that second stanza.*

Well done. *

"if you whisper your truths, / they'll disappear, he'd say, so he never whispers them — "

Very helpful to all of us who have lost our fathers, yet not a therapy poem, a lovely tribute and elegy to the difficulty of meanings and words at the end, when words may fail or say too much. *

In awe. And I am sorry for your loss. *

*, Sam. Such a warm, loving tribute to your dad. If he could, he would reach out for you for this. I love how you open:

"So many words to say now he'll never say though

he feels their weight in silence, though he needs

their meanings, he knows he won't find them,"

So much affection and truth in your words, Sam. So sorry for your loss. *

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This is a very tender and lovely, Sam. Like all sons I have a very deep, soft spot in my heart for my dad, and this poem breathes beautifully. Thank you.

Yes. Very fine.

Bittersweet and beautiful.*

Nice poem, Sam.

Thanks to everyone for reading this piece. I appreciate your comments.

images of a life, of life.

"his voice is the wild thud
of trees falling oceans from here in cool shimmers

of rain, in the hot curl of asphalt, in all the time needed
though there's so little now to do"

I'm sorry for your loss.

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I'm no poet, but I loved this. It gets down to it.

Beautiful, Sam. *

loved this at fwriction, glad to find it here. Beautiful read aloud, masterful use of line and image. But beyond that, oh what soul. Thank you.

Hard to read, Sam, since it plows a familiar field, one still marked with ruts and covered with just the twinkling edges of seedling coming through... one I'd just as lief avoid, and did for a while.

Glad I read it, though

I've read this poem many times now, and still I struggle to put the right words here. Bowing to the hush, to you, to your father. *

and he's prayed deep

into the hole of his aching

true beauty of feeling in your words *

Sam ~ Gorgeously lyrical poem, loving tribute ~ honor & respect! *

In feeling, language, and craft, the genuine article, the real deal, a superb poem that serves two legacies.

lovely, sad, perfect

This was a difficult write for me. I'm grateful to each one of you for reading and commenting. Thanks.

Of course, Sam. Fave.

A very moving tribute.

The weight and light of life, and you finding the words he can't say. This moved me deeply.

Sam, a very touching tribute to your dad and I have to say this is the first poem of yours that i read that felt so authentic and real in its voice.

beautiful

Thanks again to everyone for reading this.

I'm late to the party here, but this is a sublime piece. Beautifully rendered in a symmetrical form that really works with the message and images. Sad & poignant & powerful. *

Well worth the revisit. Even better the second time around!

Thanks for the reads, Michael. I appreciate it.

Oh my, Sam. Here, you made me "kneel to hear the crickets trilling underfoot" along with you and your father, and my own. What a gift you have.

Thanks for your comment about reader connection, Barry. I'm glad the piece works for you.

My dad passed nearly nine years ago; it doesn't seem that long at all.

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