On Reading Akhmatova
On Reading Akhmatova
by
Rick Folker
Kansas City, MO
...delighted in deliriums,
In singing about tombs.
I distributed misfortunes…
… But I am not allowed to forget
The taste of the tears of yesterday.
- Anna Akhmatova
“The Last One”
Awake in my darkened room
Another nightmare of doom
Entombed in this nothingness
Life has become a series of shades
Passing by my window on a heavy
August night - Friends long dead
Whisper,
“Hey man, you should have bowed
Out gracefully … we did”.
Survivor's guilt covers me
like a shroud
Their deaths leave me hollowed;
Dessicated like late autumn leaves
...
The stifling heat is burying me beneath
My last gasps of relevance, remembrance,
And sanity,
I live; they sleep.
I in this lonely room,
they in the distance
Of their deep
Now the pathos of age and dead end paths
Beckon me; those former friends
Those shades I flee
Against my earnest, ardent screams
Escape my desperate silent plea
for dignity, forgetfulness, and
longevity
I shall not dream again tonight
I hope; I pray
Of those I loved;
Of those I lost to AIDS
Copyright © Rick Folker | Year Posted 2017
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment