Downer... because I can
CranMalReign
Posts: 1,928
A Moment in the Life Of: "Hop in, honey."
December 24, 2000
"I hadn't planned on doing this," dad said as he turned up the driveway toward the cemetery on the hill.
He had.
His son sat in the passenger seat; his wife, his daughter, and her boyfriend were crammed into the back seat. They had been driving around for a half hour or so looking at Christmas lights like they do every 23rd of December. That was probably the only tradition that wasn't broken or altered after the tragic death of his other daughter, the middle child, a year and a half previous. Maybe he felt the family couldn't handle doing the same family things they used to on the holidays. At least not without the whole family there. Maybe he couldn't handle it.
The car crept slowly through the cemetery on the top of the hill. The fresh coating of snow, virgin to both tire tracks and footsteps, crunched softly beneath the weight of the car. Slowly around every turn, the snow gave way and the car slipped a few inches. The TruValue Hardware Christmas Collection CD was playing and everyone was silent.
The car stopped. They were 100 feet from her headstone. No one wanted to get out in the biting cold and wind. The Christmas music stopped and he rolled down his window. Everyone sat silently and shivered. "Hop in, honey," he said as he blew a kiss out the window. "We all know you're already with us."
He looked out the window a little longer, choking back his tears. Everyone else looked forward, or at their feet. "We'll be back to see you tomorrow," he said before rolling up the window and continuing on. The Christmas music continued where it had left off.
December 24, 2000
"I hadn't planned on doing this," dad said as he turned up the driveway toward the cemetery on the hill.
He had.
His son sat in the passenger seat; his wife, his daughter, and her boyfriend were crammed into the back seat. They had been driving around for a half hour or so looking at Christmas lights like they do every 23rd of December. That was probably the only tradition that wasn't broken or altered after the tragic death of his other daughter, the middle child, a year and a half previous. Maybe he felt the family couldn't handle doing the same family things they used to on the holidays. At least not without the whole family there. Maybe he couldn't handle it.
The car crept slowly through the cemetery on the top of the hill. The fresh coating of snow, virgin to both tire tracks and footsteps, crunched softly beneath the weight of the car. Slowly around every turn, the snow gave way and the car slipped a few inches. The TruValue Hardware Christmas Collection CD was playing and everyone was silent.
The car stopped. They were 100 feet from her headstone. No one wanted to get out in the biting cold and wind. The Christmas music stopped and he rolled down his window. Everyone sat silently and shivered. "Hop in, honey," he said as he blew a kiss out the window. "We all know you're already with us."
He looked out the window a little longer, choking back his tears. Everyone else looked forward, or at their feet. "We'll be back to see you tomorrow," he said before rolling up the window and continuing on. The Christmas music continued where it had left off.
- 98 Pgh
- 00 Pgh
- 03 Pgh|Philly|PSU|Camden 1+2|Hershey
- 04 Boston 1|Reading
- 05 Philly
- 06 Camden 1+2|Pgh
- 08 Camden 1+2|Hartford|Mansfield 2
- 09 Philly 1 [EV]|Toronto|Spectrum 1-4
- 10 Cleveland|Buffalo
- 11 Philly [EV]|PJ20
- 12 Philly
- 13 London|Pgh|Buff|Philly 1+2|Balt
- 14 Cincy|StL
- 16 Philly 1+2|Philly 2 [TotD]
- 18 Boston 1+2
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Comments
Is that what your family does for your sister?
Very touching.
That's what my dad does for my sister. Among other things. We all grieve different ways and, well, we better grieve his way too or he'll pout.
That is really sweet!
~~~
To Sell Eternity
April 21, 2003
Some somber clown
in shorts and sneaks
hawked McAfterlife in
name brand Happy Meal caskets
Humidity and surrealism
melted tact like clocks
over bare branches of unimportance
My sister lay cold
dead and unnatural upstairs --
peaked and reconstructed --
in air conditioned comfort
while Dad squabbled over the price
of the box she would rot in
you have a great way with words.
extremely touching.
INTER-FUCKING-MISSION!!!
Newcastle-Riverside 02/22/92!!!
E.rutherford New Jersey 01/06/06
Athens -Greece.survived !barely-
Wembley 18/06/07- no words- just smiles!
I imagine you're talking about "A Moment in the Life Of" and not "To Sell Eternity".
But I do like your poem. And sometimes that's the best thing we can do with something ugly - create something out of it to share with other people.
I'm sorry for your loss (i can't even imagine...)
but I am glad that you still seek to fill the world with beauty.
Thank you very much. Very appreciated. I understand the awkwardness of saying whether or not you like such a personal and touchy poem. I deal with that when my friend writes about her best friend who died of cancer a little while ago. It's tough.
But appreciated, regardless.
BTW: I don't recognize you from around here... and judging by your post count, you're relatively new... so welcome!
nice on the toungue/in the mouth...
I do feel welcome here
Transplant Girl
A headline
A headlight
A beam from above
A child, so delicate
Deep filled with love
A darkness
A shadow
Burrows deep in her core
She tries to escape it
Only runs into more
A victim
Unfortunate
Casualty of war
God bless the causes
Our angels die for
A heartache
A headache
A schedule to keep
Can’t wait much longer
This pain hurts too deep
A moment
A heartbeat
Already too long
I vow to discover
Where your light carries on
I think this is beautiful. I especially like the "God bless the causes / Our angels die for" bit. Style, too. Title stands in stark contrast to the content, which makes it all the more powerful.
Thank you for sharing.
To Those Who Fell From the 84th Floor
I lay in bed rolling over to each side, staring from wall to ceiling
Unable to blink
Even to shut my eyes for any period of time
Out of fear
Not the usual fear of hurt or harm, fear of what is known
Fear of acceptance
The simple act of blinking floods my sight with darkness
Then a face
That face, a new one every blink, every second of darkness is someone
Who is dead
With every blink, and every face, an eternity flashes forward and I
Can’t keep up
Someone I knew and loved, now the people I cared about make me afraid to
Close my eyes
I lay awake with the lamps on but my mind is anything but
Bathed in light
I am restless, waiting for unfulfilled tears while denying they will help anyway
I am sweating
The memorials are short, but empty caskets fall nightly into the void of my eyelids
Another day
I pull off the covers as if they were the death mask of some putrescent decaying pharaoh
An unfinished life
I can concentrate on the loss of so much but ruefully forget the joy of memories
Of a great many
Elf... the people I cared about make me afraid...
Powerful. Sad. Broken.
Death has many shades, and many hues it bathes us in, as exemplified by this thread.
I implore others to share their personal take, if they have one.