Thursday, 9 August 2007

Tribute

I ordered the funeral tribute flowers online - seems that I have to do most of my shopping online these days as I can only visit the real world at such unsociable times.
So there was a strict brief: Message must be no longer than 100 characters.
Cripes!
What to say and how to say it in under 101 characters?
I figured that my ex's mum would appreciate a personalised poem of sorts, and I thought about her family and how I might offer some comfort. I thought about how memories fade - how it becomes harder and harder to remember how a person looked; and I imagined that the memory fades on purpose, falling away so that only the essence of the person remains - so that only the truth of the person lingers.
Here's my solution:

Dismiss this guise whence mem'ries fall;
Unbind the heart that tempers all.

I hope she likes it (or would have liked it, depending on your faith), and I hope it doesn't offend her family.
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2 comments:

R1X said...

Very cool - it's as if you're saying "Be free".

But then, you've always been good with your poetry, haven't you ;)

9 August 2007 at 15:55
solv said...

Thanks ricardo.
I'm relieved that my tribute was received well (you have to be careful not to step on toes, especially if those toes are of any given faith).
I confess that I have very little clue about poetry. The biggest no-no for me is when the poem sounds forced or strained: my feeling is that is should read effortlessly, as though the sentiments and rhymes came naturally; as though they always existed.
My ex's mum used to love poetry. I wrote one called Travelling Light and it was one of her faves I think. It began:

We rode on silver antelopes
Along the twilight shade
Our heartbeats coursing through the trees
Where other creatures prayed.

She would always ask 'How are my silver antelopes today?'
Funny thing is that I just realized that she had the only transcript of that poem. I can't remember the last four verses. I guess that poem has gone with her, and I kinda like that idea, as though she had lots of company at the end.

11 August 2007 at 11:31

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