Image via Wikipedia
Should You Choose to Die Today
will the Earth withhold her
splendor for a moment
until she gasps for air,
the air that would be yours?
Most trees have lost their leaves
and quail forage in
dead brush.
I haven’t heard the coyote howl.
On my walk by the River
I saw a pair of doves.
A swallow rests, alone
on a branch of our ornamental pear
and feasts.
Although I posted this poem recently, I want to share it again today with the wonderful visitors to dVerse Poets Pub. I just returned from the funeral of a young woman who took her own life and this experience brought new meaning to these words for me.
On a personal note, I am happy to be back in the world of blogging after a few week’s break. Part of this time was spent on vacation in Colorado Springs and then in Pinehurst, North Carolina where I had the opportunity to golf Pinehurst #2, a course that has hosted the US Open. My husband won this trip. Our second day, we were able to golf 11 holes at another Pinehurst course before the rain forced us off the course. We were soaked to the bone but grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. AND on course #2, hole #15, my drive landed 3 feet to the left of the pin but then I was so excited about my birdie opportunity, I choked and missed the putt. And so it goes!
Come visit the pub at: http://dversepoets.com
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
Glad that you are back. I’m sorry to hear of your loss, but I think the poem does the concept great justice.
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Wow, incredible emotions in light of the funeral, but before I saw your comment I was thinking how lovely even a leafless, somewhat barren fall day can be…. I wish your friend could have seen all the beauty in life that you do…… I’m happy to see your poems again!
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Desperately sad and beautifully written. I felt the melancholy of loss in the poem.
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Victoria, this is an arresting poem. You have presented the material ‘aslant’ – perfect for the theme. I feel I’ve read something important.
Thank you for sharing the personal circumstances. All the best.
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Victoria, this is an arresting poem. You present the material ‘aslant’ – just perfect for the very sad theme. I feel I’ve read something important.
Thank you for sharing this and the personal significance. All the best.
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Sorry about your friend, so devastating. The poem is lovely.
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I’m so glad you’re back with us. How did the editing go? A beautiful oxymoron of a poem. Bittersweet describes it perfectly.
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oh so sad victoria…bad enough when young people die in car accidents or however but makes me desperate when they take their own life…your verse resonate peaceful after all
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Victoria, a sad and beautiful poem. I especially like the concrete imagery of the second stanza, which conveys through ordinary things (and their absence) the bleak content of the earth’s gasp in the first stanza, while the the third stanza holds out hope — albeit ambivalent.
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Sorry about the loss of your friend. It is a difficult thing to try to understand. Your poem touches the broken heart gently.
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yay! welcome back victoria! glad you had a good time…ack on the putt…cant wait to hear more about your trip…
sorry on the death of the friend…for one to take their own life…yes, this does bring even greater meaning to the verse…i have had friends embrace a similar fate…sorry…
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I can’t say anything because I’m too touched (silly but true), wonderful to have you back.
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[…] Posts Should You Choose to Die Today–dVerse Open Link NightTaking a Blogging BreakFernando BoteroPerfect Family–Big Tent PoetryThe Cloud of Unknowing–dVerse […]
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So sad to see someone end their own lives. She must have been so tormented. I hope she is at peace now.
A lovely, poignant write.
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very touching.. subtle without the excess of emotions…thanks for sharing this ~
nice to see you back in the bloggerworld ~
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You captured the pain and joy of life and death elegantly. Well written.
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A quiet reflection and a bittersweet goodbye.
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Very visual. I felt I was in the leafless forest, looking up.
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I liked the words … I enjoyed it thoroughly… You first paragraph… was really powerful…
Thanks for joining at my first Wk of hosting Poetry Potluck…
Shashi
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/07/whispers-cuckoos-song-and-smell-of-love.html
At Twitter @VerseEveryDay
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very touching for me, because its my moms turn. i just wrote about it today. blessings and love.
Luna
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I’m so sorry to hear about your Mom. I tried to find it on your blog, Luna, but couldn’t. Perhaps you haven’t posted it? You are both in my prayers.
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Lovely well written and thoughtrul poem, sorry to hear of your pain. God bless you both
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Heart wrenching poem and heart wrenching situation. I’m sorry about your cousin and hold you both in heart and prayer.
Thank you for sharing a fine and authentic poem, Victoria.
Blessings ….
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Ah, I just reread this. I had thought it was for our cousin, but I think I’m wrong about that.
The peom is sad but simply beautiful.
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Very reflective, melancholy… sorry about your friend.
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Victoria… this is stunning the feelings are so vivid in your words… a beautiful sadness.
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Your poem is a song of words, tying beauty and life to the final journey, and then back to life and living. It is a celebration of her life as the poem whispers to each person she touched.
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i am sorry for your loss victoria…a wonderful poem to the passing…i love the little textures to it…
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An absolutely incredible poem. The tree falls, yet her seeds are scattered to carry on . . . and the world keeps turning. Yes, all is as it should be.
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May the transition be an easy one for all those affected, Victoria. Beautiful, heartfelt poem with striking imagery.
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Beautiful and sad. Sorry for your loss.
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may god bless her soul. my loving prayers are with you, your family my dear, sweet friend.
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Thank you, Trisha. She has had a difficult life.
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i wish she had found her peace during her living here, on earth. thats what i pray for human beings that they dont have to wait for eternal rest, peace to feel truly blessed.
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it had an air of deep melancholy. wonderfully written victoria.
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wooo that’s a cracker. What an intriguing title too.. makes ya wanna read it. Fabulous. No biggie but left-aligning it would work better for me (and indented to the middle, rather than centre-aligning)
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Thanks for the suggestion, Luke. Yeah, I’m noticing a trend away from centering poems.
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amazing insights, for trees, they die and reborn on yearly basis, not human beings.
thanks for the unique take on life… blessings!
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best wishes
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A lovely poem, and a fitting tribute for your cousin.
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Beautiful and sad. Rest in peace and rise in glory.
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No matter what..the earth doesn’t change for us…very powerful..and life goes on, as you showed!
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Victoria:
Very lovely…very sad…a good description of our life in general.
very good…
Jaye
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I hope your pain at the loss of your cousin will ease with time.
Sad & bittersweet.
Best wishes.
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A proof that sadness and beauty can walk together, like a pair of doves…
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Victoria i am sorry for your loss, but as the year progressed i hope everything is ok. As for the poem very heartfelt emotion coming thru and using the metaphor of the tree’s branches dying as that of a human.
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very moving, insightful and apt, autumn brings in fine colors you wish to display.
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Sorry for your loss – The poem shows your heartfelt affection!
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Becca said it…bittersweet…
thank you for sharing this post of well chosen words
that have so much energy knowing the transition
they portray.
May memories of better days give you comfort of your
heart and soul.
☮ ♥ Siggi in Downeast Maine
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They say the days have gotten 1.26 microseconds shorter. For some reason that’s a small comfort to me; it’s as if every time someone dies, the earth pauses for the smallest most infinitesimal amount of time. So even though life goes on, and the taxis honk and jackhammers roar–the earth takes a look at her deep secrets and reflects. Enjoyed your poem.
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tender and sadenning ..
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Wow, this is an incredible write… straight from the soul. Thank you
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Victoria – a bittersweet dedication. I am sorry for you and your family as everyone adjusts to this transition. Blessings~~
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finding beauty in pain….a beautiful write.
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Much sadness felt. Well written. Sorry for your loss.
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