MEMENTO VIVERE

i.m. Ian Jones

 

There is no right age to die – or way to mourn.

As I thought of him, the small bush I could see

from the desk I wrote at – a plant whose name

we had forgotten, lost – was burgeoning:

its leaves greening, swelling, as spring, despite

that day’s north westerly, took hold. In time –

which he no longer had or had in

profligate abundance – an array

of delicate pink and white flowers would bloom.

 

I thought of his talents, his unassuming

skills – mammon’s measurements – and what makes us

human:  his smile, chuckle, patience, gentle

irony, and his kindness. That chance

perennial would be a remembrance.

 

It flowered with an abundance of petals

in early summer. Within weeks the flowers

began to die, singly, and then in bunches.

The leaves withered and fell. He would have grinned

hugely at such bathos.

 

 

 

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2 Comments
  • John Huddart
    March 1, 2017

    Thanks for bringing Ian back to mind. A fine elegy.

  • Mary Clark
    March 1, 2017

    I like this connection to the stirrings of life, the resurgence actually, of life, in the spring, to the flauntings of summer and then the first signs of dying, of things ending. Then there’s the realities of fall, and the bleak winter when you still hold out hope. The seasons are a good mirror for our souls. But beyond this there is the reflection of what makes us human: it’s these we remember. This is wonderful: ‘That chance perennial would be a remembrance’.