Friday, June 03, 2016

'Dancing'

Another poem from the entries for the Senior Poetry Prize, this time by Nyla Jamieson. Nyla read this out as the first poem at this year's Voices of Poetry.


Dancing

The ashes danced in the wind
Teasing the grass below
The earth stretched out its short green arms
But the ashes flew just out of their reach.

Tears fell but the ashes soared
Oblivious to the pain they caused
Prayers were said and hymns were sung
The ashes pirouetted to this bitter sweet symphony.

Finally the dancers grew weary
They settled into the earth’s warm embrace.
As the mourners shuffled away they said they would miss her
But she was already gone.

The ashes may have been a part of her
But what made her her was well gone
While her ashes flitted in the breeze
Her soul had fled to that unknown place.

Years later her family still came
And shed a tear or two
Not even her ashes remained to see this grief
They were off touring the world.

This love was not for them to see
This grave was not for her
Graves, funerals and mourning are for the living
The dead dance on, indifferent.

No comments: