Michael Coy Poet Sonnet

Memento Mori

(In the Middle Ages, tombs and monuments
often bore carvings of skulls or decaying corpses.
The idea was to remind the onlooker that he, too,
was marked for death.  These figures were known
as "memento mori".)

Approach me, stranger. Nothing in my story 
should startle you. Your flesh has always known it. 
I just remind you. I'm Memento Mori. 

Yes, this is what awaits you. Don't disown it. 
You came in laughing, vital, carefree, easy, 
but now your peace is ruined. Go, bemoan it, 

and when your Pinot Grigio, risi e bisi 
no longer please your palate, and your lover, 
so far from comforting you, makes you queasy, 

think hard. There's more to life than quail and plover. 
Many things may never happen. This one must. 
There's less to life than hope, as you'll discover. 

For what you are now, that's what I once was. See? 
See what I am? It's what you're going to be.

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Darren White March 8, 2017 at 7:09 AM Almost a terza rima sonnet :) Michael Coy March 8, 2017 at 7:13 AM Indeed. Only YOU would notice that!

Darren White March 8, 2017 at 2:30 AM Memento mori, (nos) morituri te salutant(-amus)... It's true isn't it? But only when you're not as carefree as others, or as you once was, that's a thing to reflect on. Most other times you just jump around and run away. Something for later. Do everything in life that is important, really important, don't drink it away. Pursue your dreams, goals. Do your best to make them happen OR be content with the life you lead now and have no regrets. Michael Coy March 8, 2017 at 6:50 AM Amen, brother!