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Resting Place

My mother gave me pictures of her
and her son
both dead

We all die sooner or later

No one comes into the world
thinking she will suffer a lingering, painful death
or that he will die of a ruptured ulcer

We all die quickly or slowly

We all die of trivial things
which is not supposed to happen
or so our rebellious minds wail

She gave me pictures
of a dead woman and her dead son
They are still in the envelope
what’s left of a dead woman and her son

Where to bury the bodies
Where to put the ashes

Comments

7 responses to “Resting Place”

  1. Tel Avatar
    Tel

    I like this. It reminds me of what I often find myself thinking: we never come to stay.

  2. jessiecarty Avatar
    jessiecarty

    Fantastic opening 🙂

  3. medicatedlady Avatar
    medicatedlady

    Thanks, Tel & Jessie.

    I keep thinking: photos of the dead are not for the living. I don’t know what to do with the pictures my mother gave me, so they are laying on the coffee table and are looming both physically and mentally. I will be glad to be gone for July 4th festivities if for no other reason than I will be away from those pictures. I can’t part with them or ignore them but I can’t face them, either.

  4. valbrussell Avatar
    valbrussell

    Sometimes the putting away of the photos is the burial. This is exceptional and each line is potent.

  5. poeticgrin Avatar
    poeticgrin

    “We all die of trivial things” – I really like this line… even in grand, fiery deaths, we can whittle our end down to some minute detail which ultimately stopped our heart.

  6. 1writegirl Avatar
    1writegirl

    Bryan is right, there is no death that is somehow greater than another, no death even, more honorable. Death does not play favorites.

  7. mariana Avatar
    mariana

    Sounds really good!
    I think we are all dying all of the time, this won’t change until the universe changes it’s rules (which I don’t think is going to happen soon)

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