Best Dust To Dust Poems
Act One scene one, the curtain drawn,
before the players cross the stage~
A silent script and program gone,
this mute perception to engage~
Fallible form and fancied function,
athwart the stage they come and go~
Delightful dance of grand conjunction,
perfect parts within the show~
Audience to this human plight
and resting in the arms of trust~
See the play with inner sight,
all temporal forms return to dust~
Satprem~
Copyright © 2015
I find myself at times in my life,
at a turning point- which way do I go?
and I always returned to the foothills
Searching for an inkling of a feeling of home
Long after the farm had been foreclosed on
Sad, as I watch the cattle now in the pasture-
where my Dad and granpas markers and ashes lay
~ashes to ashes dust to dust~
Earth to earth, dust to dust,
Shall all flesh someday return.
Soul to its own, body to the crust,
Shall one day every man his turn.
The duration of life is so short
That it may not last the next mile
For it could in a single report
Rob a life of its precious smile.
That is why no one should boast
Of what is yet to be tomorrow;
Even all that seem of surety most,
Could any moment be a sorrow.
Life on earth is never forever;
One can only wish but it'd never!
From dust to dust our lives are thrust,
while flames the candle’s brief combust.
We leave the shelter of the bay,
unmindful night will follow day,
to launch our voyage, earn a crust.
All nature seems a sage august.
In paths of promises we trust,
not weighing dreams along the way
from dust to dust.
With age comes waning wanderlust.
The mortal frame’s begun to rust.
In measured steps our scenes we play.
But even stars to death fall prey.
And yet there must be more than just
from dust to dust…
~ Harley White
* * * * * * * * *
Inspiration for this rondeau came from image and astronomy article ~ G54.1+0.3: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust… The image showed dusty remains of a collapsed star with the dust is flying past and engulfing a nearby family of stars.
I left you in the corner of my mind
with teenage memories of my puberty.
I put thoughts of you in a box in the
attic of my recall, along with others from
that time, and there you lay,
settled, gathering dust.
Gathering dust.
I wrapped each memory carefully,
as one would a cut glass; delicate,
trying to keep the stems intact.
Desperate to retain the perfection
yet scared it wouldn't last, and there you stayed,
settled, gathering dust.
Gathering dust.
Years have rusted the recollection;
Once vivid colours of reminiscence
faded in perception, yet you sat
patiently in the corner of my mind,
jostled by accumulating life experiences,
settled, gathering dust.
Gathering dust.
Like some old painting waiting
for restoration, you bided your time.
Then one day in the attic you spoke
my name; you called me from your corner
and into my present came a familiarity;
a recognisable voice perforating the now with then
and it was yesterday again -
I unfold the tarnished tissue paper which
has wrapped the ornate cut glass
memory for so long; carefully, piece
by tattered piece, and there it is,
glistening in glorious perfection;
vibrant still, safely stored,
stem intact.
Ivory-clad finger carves a path;
signs of neglect incur her wrath.
Minuscule motes swirl aloft;
lungs are clogged as hands waft.
Blanket covers all
on floor and wall.
Was just fine,
this shrine:
mine.
------------------------------------------
March 2017
For the "Dust" contest sponsored by Shadow Hamilton - Ninth Place.
It was suggested that I plan my
Own funeral
The entities living on me
In me
Have ensured that I will not last forever
I lived quietly among my family for eons
Uninhabited
But never lonely
Then the entities came
Looking for virgin land
Wild and free
With no history
- as far as they were concerned
They lived here peaceably
For a hundred sun orbits
And multiplied and prospered
They had brought life forms with them
And they, too
Multiplied and prospered
Until I became overcrowded
The entities
Moved out of their original small settlements
And built vast cities
Which necessitated digging into my soil
Blasting my hills
Retraining my rivers’ natural paths
They melted my poles
And emptied my oceans
Soon I was covered in concrete
They polluted the air
The land
The water
Until I lay in spoils
Dying
So now I must plan my funeral
Brothers, play the music of the spheres for me
Mourners, pray to the sun for me
Remember how happy I was before
The occupation
The entities are finally leaving
In search of another virgin
Sisters, will you send out advance warnings?
“To the next victim:
Beware noisy unheeding beings
Who land with silver ships
And make false promises
I don’t know, maybe you can freeze them out
Or melt them down
Blow them away
Or shake them off
Or drown them
I hope you do not do what I did:
Accept them in peace
And hope”
I don’t know when or if these entities will ever learn
To respect what is not theirs
So I must plan my funeral
Brothers and sisters, could you combine
Your energies
To push me closer to the sun
I would like to be cremated
To return from whence I came
I do not wish to remain here
A forgotten
A dead dusty red planet
Alone
From dust we came--when will we learn
That to dust again, we'll soon return?
Rich and poor, master and slave--
All flesh lies equal, in the grave.
Bravado, boasting, arrogance--
Are but a sorry recompense
For the joys of life we push aside,
Just to maintain our macho pride.
Perfect looks of face and form
Soon, will wither, from life's storm.
The only charm time can't control:
Is the eternal beauty of the soul.
Wealth and power evaporate,
Upon our great departure date.
All our possessions--our very best,
Will, very soon, be repossessed.
In humbleness, I meekly state,
We're not the masters of our fate.
The great Creator, we must trust--
The One who formed us from the dust.
Ashes to ashes… dust to dust…
We begin as a tiny cell and die with our remains turning into
little brittle specks of dust. All of our existence ends with our
bodies melting into the earth churning with the clay. We live for
love, we die in peace and through our journey we are taken
through distant lands of free will. We eventually become one
with mother nature, what had been intended so long ago.
Ashes to ashes…dust to dust…
Though the earth offers air for our lungs and ground for our feet,
it also offers a place of rest. That place is where everyone resides
after they perish. We become one with each other and in our final
resting place, we all share the same memories. Those of love. Those
of pain. Those of sorrow. Those of joy. Even those who have lived the
hardest of lives all carry some sort of happiness at one time or another.
Those who have lived the easiest of lives still carry some sort of grief at
one time or another. We feed off hunger and our bones eventually
turn to dust.
As our bodies pass, death is a must-
We all turn into ashes…
we all turn into dust.
March 22, 2017
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust -
All mankind to their fate are led.
To face it - though - each human must!
There’s no need to pray for the dead.
Like motes of dust or grains of sand,
God’s children, through his worlds, are spread.
We wither but we go on, and
there’s no need to pray for the dead.
Yes, truly, I believe that we
one day will be where angels tread
to live again eternally.
There’s no need to pray for the dead.
Death takes our loved ones like a thief.
Pray for those whose tears are shed,
who must go on despite their grief!
There’s no need to pray for the dead.
March 25, 2017 for the Dust Contest of Shadow Hamilton
written poems by sisters, brothers
always judged by someone’s druthers
never judged with hearts of mothers
judged by how one writes, no other’s
Excerpt from the Book of Common Prayer,
For the Burial of the Dead
"Earth to Earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, insure and certain hope of the Resurrection unto eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ"...
~~~
Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust
Morning cast a dusty light in our room,
Streams of dust, dancing and pirouetting,
Brightening up the stark and dismal gloom;
Drifting specks in the air, unrelenting,
Shafts of whirling light, disorienting.
Hear the strains of music that we adored;
Shared memories that I seek and implore,
With candle light dinners on land and sea,
Savory delights with wine you would pour,
We both knew, I loved you and you loved me.
Date: Feb. 2, 2022
For: D Forms Dizain-Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
Placed 2nd in contest
I trimmed the thorns off the blood red rose to prevent my own flowing down the stem
The petals nestled soft as snow, the fragrance of a thousand nights and days
Misting the air, summoning memories and regrets, days so far and fragmentally near
The eternal green stems, rooted in the depths of the dust from which we came.
“From dust to dust…”* Thus declares Scripture truth
That had confounded my soul’s very core
And is ceaselessly confronting my heart
Nagging me with this question I must face:
“Am I prepared for my coffin’s sealing?”
Succumbing to mind’s reality-check
I’m propelled to peek thru my burial site
And behold my mortal body’s graveyard
Only to be gripped with this inquiry:
“How ready am I for my final rites?”
With my faith in the mighty Saviour God
I’m secured of eternal life’s abode
Where forever I’ll enjoy heaven’s bliss
Yet, never can I deny this demand:
“Where will my earthly tabernacle lie?”
A decent burial’s surely a blessing
Such is my desire I believe is good gift
I can receive from my Creator Lord
Whose wondrous grace He indeed freely grants…
“Do I deserve it when perfect time comes?”
Midst reverberating spiritual hymns
In a casket beautified with flowers
My human temple radiates gratitude
To the mighty God of resurrection**
While inspiring others to live their best!
*Ecclesiastes 3:20 “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”
** John 11:25 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
January 22, 2019
Edited on May 29, 2020
Dramatic Monologue with Blank Verse (10 syllables each line)
3rd place, "STRAND no 780, any theme any form" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; judged on 6/1/2020.
If your heart was a diamond, perfect and clear,
glittering gleaming like a broken heart's tear,
if lust was coal, dusty and black,
would it make you realize you want to come back?
If music was woven with golden thread
soft... like the locks lay upon your head
I would listen all day... and through the night
I would play it once more to make things right.
For if poems and words were always the truth
and were spun into realities as beautiful as you,
my creation would be worth the time that it takes
and the toll that it makes.
For days are like mountains and years are like hills
and the tears are the rivers that turn all the mills.
Though they bring sadness and though they bring pain,
Has one seen a rainbow without any rain?
Though things cannot last, still nothing can die.
It is a circle broken with only goodbyes.
An echo in silence... a wonder we forgot
the weeping of willow was all for not.
One less second is no concern of mine,
but one may wonder where goes that time...
You can think it like this, you can think it like that.
Will the thinking bring those moments back?
It has been so long, moments have been wasted!
Fruits of love I have never tasted
rot on the ground but will grow towards the sky!
It is the endless circle broken only with goodbye
Crumbling in my hands, the hopes of a past,
leaving, believing that all this could last.
The soil turns to sand and then sand into dust
and blows away in the wind... something bigger than us.
This greater purpose... this greater end
can be seen in every sunrise, every heart of a friend.
Coal into diamond and diamond to rust.
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust!
So be it if words are spun into lies.
It is all just the circle broken with these goodbyes.
In the end... dreams will come and others will rust
it is ashes to ashes and dust to dust!