Wednesday, July 11, 2007

A Poem in Memory of?


Invincible; no, you only think so.
Immortal. Hardly.
You are the bright promise we old farts hang our stars on.
You are the better day. Funny. So full of life.
Intensely living and learning and growing.
Why did you fall? Why did life cut you down long before life wore you out?


Note: I swear I’m becoming forgetful, because I came across these words today while decluttering and can’t remember for whom they were written. I think maybe I wrote this after the shootings at Virginia Tech. How quickly that story disappeared from the nation’s radar. Now with Scottie going off to college soon, I’m again reminded of how fragile, vulnerable and precious life is. And I don’t claim to be a poet; it was just a case of a tired and sad blogger wondering why.

I took this photo of the grave of an obviously well-loved-and-lost child during a visit to Florence, Italy. Scott is holding the umbrella. It somehow seemed to fit.

6 comments:

Miss Trashahassee said...

Sobering post.

Moving photograph.

Chill bumps up and down my spine.

BFF,
Miss T

Sheila said...

Glad to hear from you Miss T. Sorry to be so somber. Lest folks think I'm too morbid, we were visiting a church in Florence, Italy and wandered out back to the graveyard afterwards. I'm always interested in how things are done in other countries. What struck us was how elaborately decorated some of the graves were.

Marion said...

Guess what, Sheila...you are a poet. These few words express my feelings very well. Thank you for posting it.

Sheila said...

Thanks, Marion. You always make me feel good.

Naomi said...

Good post and poem Sheila. That poem perfectly captures people's feelings in terrible situations like Virginia Tech. It makes you take a step back and appreciate what you have.

Sheila said...

Naomi, I almost think that unless life slugs us over the head with something bad, we never fully appreciate the good times.