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Votive

I asked you for proof.
You turned it back on me,
Saying, proof is not what you need,
Nor is it mine to give.
Only that you believe,
That is all you need.

I wanted a gift 
To give my love.
He wants for nothing;
It’s merely for me,
Comfort for my disbelief.
Nothing seen, nowhere been,
Makes up for inhumation.

I asked what you learned
Beyond what’s accepted as real.
The answer is up to me.
Was yours imaginary?
I yearned they’d want and feel,
Fearing none I sensed was real.

You both surpassed mortality.
Such inquiry needn’t trouble me.
From base emotion I was free,
So long as I shunned poetry.
I cannot write nor read,
And hold intentions clean or free.


-ARCantu, 05/22/2023

Copyright © Ann Cantu | Year Posted 2023

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Timothy Ray Date: 7/7/2023 11:34:00 AM such a thoughtful depth to inner inquiring...bringing to mind my mother's on this subject, you mourn a day and get back to the plow...life is about the living...these are thought the greats have struggled with and from their monuments, there is a silence issuing forth....but you have penned the quintessence roaming the hallways of our neuropaths....great job, have your quill take a bow Login to Reply Timothy Ray Date: 7/23/2023 4:44:00 PM The book suggests that we should be glad of the experience of coming into the world, even if it seems full of pain, because after death we will see that life had a pattern and a purpose, and that what seems to us now as 'good' and 'bad' will be appreciated without judgment as good for our souls. synopsis on The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran Ann Cantu Date: 7/23/2023 4:29:00 PM Thanks for your insight my friend. I remember my uncle asking if I had accepted my father’s death. I likely gave him a quizzical look as I replied yes. I thought to myself, I have no choice but to accept it, because he’s dead. Pragmatic I am.

Susan Ashley Date: 6/3/2023 7:29:00 AM Dear Ann, your deep conversational (with God, yourself, the deceased..?) poem is both potent and profound. The title "Votive" suggests a church setting.. a funeral perhaps. The question of faith, afterlife and spirituality, and maybe the feeling of resentment, is probed and prodded with a thoughtful pen of grace and finesse. The power of your verse held me to linger over your poem for a few reads. Rich with the textures of thought and emotion. Warmest wishes.. ~Susan Login to Reply Ann Cantu Date: 6/3/2023 8:37:00 PM Thank you so much Susan. I’m glad you enjoyed my poem. I tend to write ambiguously. My hope is the subject matter can be interpreted individually by each reader.

Beata Agustin Date: 5/24/2023 9:00:00 PM Thanks for sharing this... making me reflective about its essence. Meanwhile, thanks so much for your uplifting comments. May I greet you with the love of the Lord, expressed by John 3:16 of the Bible, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Be blessed! Login to Reply Ann Cantu Date: 5/31/2023 2:51:00 PM Thank you Beata!