Earth, lie lightly on him.
He is too small to bear
Your heavy soil, that heavy stone,
And all our heavy tears.
Sun, shine brightly on him.
You cannot shine too bright.
The faintest glow is welcome there
Where it is always night.
Time, pass gently by him.
We will but briefly weep;
But he that here has come to rest
Has oh so long to sleep.
God, you need not judge him:
Heaven holds no kinder man.
Just hold him warmly to your heart,
For we no longer can.
-
Author:
jarcher54 (
Offline) - Published: April 30th, 2025 14:41
- Comment from author about the poem: Years ago my sister-in-law lost her little brother Jimmy to Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy. Jimmy became more and more disabled as he grew up, and was in his early 20s when he died. He never complained and was a source of joy to everyone that met him. I penned this little epitaph on the morning of his burial and my sister-in-law read it as he was interred into the Texas soil on a drizzly day.
- Category: Reflection
- Views: 16
- Users favorite of this poem: sorenbarrett, Cheeky Missy
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Comments2
Inspired, brilliant. A most moving poem so well written. It is heart felt and brings tears to the eyes. A mark of poetic art the emotion it evokes, The tenderness and love felt in this piece will stay with me as a shadow of a man I never met.
Too kind sir. I seem to be most inspired by sadness. It's a bit of a curse! Jimmy was so sweet and tragic that the words just came streaming out. It's somewhat based on the style of Greek epitaphs in the Greek Anthology.
And fitting epitaph it feels. The words may have come streaming out; they however claim fine, considered and should have halted on something solid (marble, or…).
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