Short Ferryman Poems

vision
my father crossing the styx
coin for ferryman
hades gates bang closed
as I watch...

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A lover's kiss, is a lover's curse
Casting a spell that cannot be broken
Except by death & Charon's token....

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On unbearably pleasant days
she beckons the ferryman
to taxi her to the
dark places of her past
to stock up on bitterness,
envy, rancor
a delusional cocktail for the
attention-starved addict
with the trademark, fatalistic,
false sense of power.
Self-respect makes a break for it
while she coddles demons in her sleep....

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A ferryman weeps at the passing of time,
No more shall the hustle of feet fill his dock.
His worth is now waning in industry's prime,
His bane, a behemoth of metal and rock.

Walking on water the wayfarers mock,
His emptying vessel, alone on the bank.
Till memories spun with the turn of the clock,
And the ferryman's boat, to nothingness sank....

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Requiem
Death I welcome you here again here again my old friend.
Young at first now an old man your glowing red eyes and bony limbs no longer scare me I welcome them to hold me and comfort me so take me bony spirit and guide me gently into that good night. 
Ferry my soul ferryman across the dark river to my place of everlasting rest and eternal slumber....

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Listen to poem:

With so many innocent lambs in this world, 
        it makes it so easy for the wolves to devour

All the Paschal lambs blinded to their part, 
        of the Pesach L’Atid Lavoh in their final hour

If there is anything in this world I have learnt,
              is we take innocence to feed an evil God

Under the pretence we will all be free,
     and under God’s banner, we will not be forgot

...

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Placid surface
looking glass
still water
 
Silence but for the cries of ducks
silverfish
minuscule reflections
of an almighty orb
casting its omnipresent being
onto rippling water
 
Undulations
varying patterns
splintering the smoothness
heartbeats of water
 
Boatman
ferryman - 
a carrier of souls
across Styx
deep water
 
A pathway to netherworlds
rough water
 
Copyright Deon J.H. Burger 2014...

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He awoke
to the sound of pouring rain,
the wind whistling 
around the windmill tower,
the aroma of homemade toasted bread
and coffee brewing on the paraffin stove…

In a daze, eyelids heavy,
he heard distant voices.
“He breathes like a sparrow.
The time is near.”
A tear fell on his frail hand.
In the shadows
the ferryman patiently waited…

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A BRIAN STRAND 1097 Poetry Contest...

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Yes indeed, as cheesy as it may sound
my advice is to drop all pretense
of spiritual striving and accomplishment.

Like a child, play, 
and ignore what anyone may think or say, 
no matter how old you feel.

Your way is yours alone
and thank heaven
it’s not our lot to guide others (being the dutiful ferryman).

Cross the great river however way you can 
put it all behind you…and you will find 
your wings were always made to soar....

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Honey’s makeshift spit. Wouldn’t pay a dime for a harlot. No need to count up a tally when in hindsight it’s a waver.

‘’Use in discretion.’’ Wrap it up sugar. The man in the woods, is father goat in a forest.

Lore and udder are what keeps the bloodline going. Façade’s crumble, if mistaken…

No man should take off their shoe before dying. The ferryman has dusty feet.

Chickens run around for half a minute after getting their head hacked off. Humankind do it their entire life....

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