Calendar
One day the calendar will just stop
I will die and you will go on living
my age will be fixed forever
written on a date I don't yet know
You will mourn my loss, shed tears,
remember my life as you knew it
then live on without my presence
as you must (as all mourners must)
Your calendar will move on, but
you will think of me at holidays
birthdays, or in certain restaurants
or when you are on certain streets
You will see my face in a crowd
do a double take and I'll be gone
you will cry sometime but
the tears will lessen with time
And life will go on after I'm gone
as life always goes on after loss
and the importance of the date I died
will fade, as it must, as it should
The day my calendar stops is not yet
and I hope it is many years away
but I just want you to know
when it does I'll die in peace
Happy to have been loved by you.
Posted for dVerse Poetics, where Victoria has prompted us to write about "calendar." Also shared with Poets United Poetry Pantry.
I just love how you express so much here, Mary! A beautiful and poignant poem about loss but just as much about love.
ReplyDeletesmiles. interesting perspective in this...the knowing our days coming to an end and knowing they will mourn and think of us on those holidays...and blessing them as well with knowing how much they meant to you as well...
ReplyDeleteHeart-touching. The calendar is very much linked to our living. Well-penned. :-)
ReplyDelete-HA
oh heck mary... i love the peacefulness of this... the knowing that one day will be our last day and there will be mourning but life also goes on... i do hope as well that you still have many, many years ahead... and i do hope that i'm well prepared when my time comes..
ReplyDeleteThis is wise tender and awesome.. that day will come for us all.. we just don't know how or when... and we live past these dates... remember them but still they will fade. very well written Mary.
ReplyDeleteStunning acceptance and reality in this. I see how the circle of life goes on--how we are mourned, then life goes on. I love the ending.
ReplyDeleteThis is a truly precious poem, Mary.
ReplyDeleteMary, this is a touchiung sentiment and heartfelt. >KB
ReplyDeleteNice way to approach it indeed at your feed, one day it will all stop
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done Mary, written with peace and acceptance for the inevitable we all will one day face.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite wonderful, Mary. And there is this sense of calm confidence in your work that is lovely. k.
ReplyDeletesweet, Mary ~
ReplyDeleteBeautiful expression of acceptance - and the happiness of knowing one is loved while still here. Wonderful.
ReplyDeletebeautifully expressed, Mary - & if i didn't already know i could sense, how intimately you know of what you speak
ReplyDeleteInevitability with love...
ReplyDeletei like that peace, happiness and calm acceptance of the inevitable ........
ReplyDeleteI could use this in one of my Eulogies Mary - tis truly beautiful. How we go on and remember certain times, streets, photos, music… a memory will alight those that we have lost and loved. The last line was gorgeous x
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever read something as beautiful as this ... it is just so perfect ... lots of love to you for penning something so beautiful :-)
ReplyDeleteWell said Mary.
ReplyDeleteYour poem is very wise. All your loved ones will look back on this and they'll love you even more.
ReplyDelete...no sense of fear and regret but only mere acceptance of love you earned, Mary... this has surely touched my heart & soul & made me feel grateful to have known someone like you... bless your heart, Mary... smiles...
ReplyDeletethe acceptance and consolation of your words are moving.It seems you are dwelling frequently on death recently. I hope you are well and continue to write for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteAbin, yes I AM fine; and I do hope to write for many years to come!! This is just a subject that resonates with me time and time again.
DeleteA very powerful poem. Its true you know, at a certain date our life shall vanish into the calender it seems. Whatever we were, the happiness we shared and the joys we had shall settle on that day. And the gentle but inevitable fading of our memories inside the minds of our friends, relatives and those who are close by is just a part of it.
ReplyDeletePeople live longer into old age now. You could be around for some time yet Mary. Anyway you cannot die for a long time yet because what would happen to the dogs?
ReplyDeleteDespite the overall grim tone, I find your poem optimistic. You will be remembered. I think that, as humans, we strive for that collective memory of us, of our actions, of our presence on earth. Beautiful poem. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
sad notion, but i like how end it, it really is the truth, the thing that matters.
ReplyDeleteThis brings tears to my eyes, Mary. Love you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThis really puts a lot of things, even death, in perspective. I like how you wrote of the importance of moving on - something all mourners must do. Beautifully written Mary.
ReplyDeleteoh wow, this is so beautiful. So many memories came with this. I guess we all have our own traumas and versions, of this weighing on us. beautiful
ReplyDeleteI think you expressed the worries and thoughts of our sub conscious very well. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful, Mary. Sad, yes, because our demise is inevitable...but if we can die in peace I can't think of a better way to freeze our life's calendar.
ReplyDeleteVery comforting words...beautifully written!
ReplyDeletei think it takes some courage to write about a subject like this, but you have done it in such a lovely and calm way.
ReplyDeletean awesome poem!
Very nice snapshot
ReplyDeleteZQ
This is a very deep write, Mary. Readiness is all, at the end.
ReplyDeletePart of getting older is sometimes being pre-occupied with the subject, but you handled this with beauty and grace...and we reach the point of acceptance unless we are taken instantly...nice one, Mary.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful thoughtful words Mary, beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Very true, words of acceptance, and I feel more 'The day my calendar stops is not yet
ReplyDeleteand I hope it is many years away' ~ willingness to continue, to write, not a passive waiting ~ Much Love Joy Peace ! xx
There is so much acceptance here Mary. Thought provoking--and so touching--joy to you
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has loved and lost family I've always thought of it from the side of the one that grieves not the one that leaves others behind. Thanks for opening my mind and making me think.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, reassurance and truth and love and certainty for the speaker and the spoken to. This poem is going in my file of poems I prefer not to live without!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem, Mary!
ReplyDeletePeace in the face of death and knowledge that you've loved and been loved- a well lived life.
ReplyDeleteMary, I'm sure everyone else said it more eloquently above, but this really made me think about so many things... the anniversary of my dad's death next week, all the "firsts" after losing friends and loved ones (first Christmas without them...). And how you handle all this potential sorrow with that beautiful ending, the promise of peace. Wonderful writing, Mary. (I'm back!) Amy
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI never thought of a calendar in this manner, but of course it is simply displaying our lives in a certain daily form...I hope that you will be turning over many new pages and hanging many new calendars Mary. You must know in life how much your friendship means to so many, right across the world:)
A very wise poem...
Eileen:)
what a good poem - I am reminded of a little old couple I once knew. He was 92, and she was 91. He always said - I want to live one day longer than she does. He outlasted her by about three weeks.
ReplyDeleteThere is an incredible sense of peace in your words, almost contentment. Thank you my friend, your acceptance is ever embracing,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Death is not sad, for the righteous. Death is in fact positive. For the righteous. I want people to think that way when I pass. To be happy on my behalf. Finally there. At home. If they grieve I would have given a bad impression, I think.
ReplyDeleteLovely thoughts Mary specially the ending line ~ Happy week to you ~
ReplyDeleteOne keeps a date but it is as yet not known. Reflecting on the good times and being remembered is gives a wonderful feeling. Wonderful write Mary!
ReplyDeleteHank
a stunning piece Mary! a very different perspective on the theme. How well you have brought out the two facets. opposites yet co-exist in some way
ReplyDeleteThis is so very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThough moving on seems impossible in fresh grief--time does not stop just because we are gone. Hugs.
ReplyDelete