When I Pass

when i pass
i will linger on in a few memories
a few nanoseconds in man's history
place no stone above me
with some name easily forgotten
never bury me in the earth
in some hollowed-out cavity
waiting for some delusional day
when cemeteries reach some prophecy
looking like a Wack-A-Mole celebration
cremate me and scatter the ashes
in some pleasant meadow
where i may luxuriate in bathing
in the Bose-Einstein condensation
as the sun rises with the solar wind
perchance an ash lights upon a blossom
a bee gathers pollen 
i cling to its toil and escape in flight
hither and dither on the hives path
let me spend a full moon
in silvery shadows that dance
amidst the mockingbirds' song of the night
or rejoice in a tempest roaring
as the trees dance in God's metronome
His power dancing across the sky
in a glorious burst of light
please a meadow of promised halcyon days
where the mortal is scattered in gratitude
of what was so miraculous
to touch, to see, to taste, to smell
blessed with the senses
yet the grandest of them all
for i was given an entitlement
graced with the gift to love
in that first breath was my eternity
when the sun runs dry and expands
all have perished at Jupiter's gates
let my mortal existence return 
from which it sprang
the fruition of that breath is home
where space and time harbor no path
where it was commanded
let there be light

   OKC   9/22

Copyright © | Year Posted 2022



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Date: 12/30/2022 5:42:00 AM
This is one of the best poems I have read today. This is a time when many around us pass away abruptly without waiting to say even a 'bye'. These days I too contemplate about my death more often. "cremate me and scatter the ashes/ in some pleasant meadow/ where i may luxuriate in bathing". Your longing to become fodder for the plants is very appreciable. You don't wish to be suffocated inside 'some hollowed out cavity.' Beautiful poem, Timothy. Into my FAVE.
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Timothy Ray
Date: 1/13/2023 10:51:00 AM
thank you Valsa
Date: 12/28/2022 9:56:00 PM
My husband and I inherited sweat shirts with the words Let There Be Light , from his company, I can still recall them vividly wearing them til' they grew ratty, but still the light remained inside. Love this
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Timothy Ray
Date: 1/13/2023 11:02:00 AM
thank you Rose....Let There Be Light has driven me insane in physics....ushered from where Time and Space do not exist....and from that point on Space and Time came into being...and the Ghost in the Machine, Space and Time do not exist in the quantum level...all of reality is there and whatever Time and Space are is also....Spinoza's pantheism? a friend once remarked Tim is one of those who spends his tormented life determining the half-life of eternity, infinity drives every physics aficionado insane, infinity...you and your yours are included in my prayers
Date: 12/28/2022 4:53:00 PM
spiritual, philosophical, serene thoughts envelop the entire poem - Congratulations on your POTW. Warm wishes ~ Mala
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Timothy Ray
Date: 12/28/2022 5:00:00 PM
thank you Mala
Date: 12/26/2022 5:44:00 AM
A thoughtfull; peaceful piece Timothy. Who Knows all.? But God alone we struggle here In existence, and reasoning.' We see glimpses Of deeper things' we hear tales.' And there can Be reports that contain facts.' But only God can Be relied on ultimately.) I have had moments as You may read in my poems, but I am only again Getting glimpses.' In God alone I trust.' And congrats on potw'
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Date: 12/19/2022 5:38:00 AM
Brilliant! In its words chosen, in its phrases as combined, in its rhymes that help pace the flowing;and in theme and emotions as imaged, as spoken — all a tour de force by you Timothy, dear brother poet, very inspired, and thankfully, still very alive! Cudos !! with HUGS. sally
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Date: 12/5/2022 3:27:00 AM
Tim, thought provoking, congratulations on POTW
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Date: 12/4/2022 6:57:00 PM
Timothy, deep but beautifully penned and congratulations on receiving the POEM OF THE WEEK, honor, blessings
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Date: 12/4/2022 4:46:00 PM
"scatter the ashes in some pleasant meadow." Such a beautiful way to depart from this life. Your thoughts are emotional, tender and spiritual, all at the same time. Congratulations Timothy, on Poem of the Week. Many wonderful blessings to you. Hugs, Brandy
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Date: 12/4/2022 2:31:00 PM
Congratulations on poem of the week Timothy, the poem is inspirational, a fantastic creation… Belle
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Date: 12/4/2022 1:10:00 PM
Timothy Back with big congratulations on your POTW !! So inspiring . Blessings, Susan :)
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Date: 12/4/2022 9:25:00 AM
Timothy, I was taken away by your words. Enjoying the journey of your flight of ashes and your reverence for the senses..sight, sound, smell, touch. Your reverence and appreciation of love. I love "the fruition of that breath is home" Belated congratulations on POTD. Susan :)
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Date: 12/4/2022 6:54:00 AM
So lovely and esoteric Timothy. I read it several times. Thank you. Congratulations on the honor of your POTD. :)
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Date: 12/3/2022 10:33:00 AM
What awaits us in the beyond is a mystery, indeed, but the way you described it, it was wondrous... and, your poem made me question where my final resting place may be... Beautifully written and expressed, Timothy...
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Date: 11/28/2022 5:46:00 PM
Gob smackingly beautiful.
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Date: 11/28/2022 5:01:00 PM
I've read this about 4 times in a row. It is quite expansive, big thoughts, a lot to follow and take in. Sometimes I think I'd like to be cremated, and my ashes fashioned into the mortar of a stone wall overlooking a meadow. I'm not real hung up on the preservation of the body - thinking we get a new one anyway. I really was entranced by the idea of the ashes gathered by a bee. Strange and wonderful, Timothy, strange and wonderful indeed.
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