Prayer

by sibyllene   Nov 8, 2012


I think about death in the morning

while combing my hair, examining
my nails, testing the texture
of my skin. While I'm driving,
watching leaves blow
across the road I think about death
wavering over cold waters, when
the sun falls through leaves like coins
death in a peeled orange in
a swallow of wine in
every seventh kiss I
build up credits of death so that

when the phone call comes, when
there are eternities between seconds
I can offer up moments in fistfulls
like blank checks,
I run through the roster in my head
prepping great uncles and family friends
for sacrifice, bargaining, exchanging the
death in my heartbeats, the death between my ribs, anything, anything,
everything as long as it's not
you.

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Latest Comments

  • 11 years ago

    by Donnie

    Sorry just seen were it posted my comment multiple times.

  • 11 years ago

    by Donnie

    Great poem. Loved it, I'm glad I got to read it thank you

  • 11 years ago

    by Jenni Marie

    Sibs, I am so glad I can finally let you know how much this piece moved me, here was my comment :

    "This is incredibly creative and such a unique way of looking at/thinking about death. Upon reading the first opening line I thought it was going to turn into one of those pieces that fell into cliche category about losing a loved one and the sort of poem that many of us happen to write when we very first begin writing and don't know any better. By the time I had finished reading I was very glad that I was wrong about my initial thoughts and pleasantly surprised by the way the author turned this into something so personal and meaningful.

    "death in a peeled orange in
    a swallow of wine in
    every seventh kiss I
    build up credits of death so that"

    These are beautifully portrayed-while the idea is the same as previously I find these lines to hold so much more meaning and depth here, simply because the times mentioned beforehand are those that are known to be when someone thinks about death after losing a loved one/when there is a chance they will lose someone close. But these lines really add such emotion here and make it clear that the author does not think about death at random times but at every single moment in their daily life. I also liked how the author states they build up credits of death as I found this incredibly bittersweet and moving.

    This is such a beautiful and heart wrenching piece that it is difficult to find anything to critique here and it seems to be incredibly personal to the author themselves. The only thing I noticed was in the closing lines "by" should be my?

    The ending again is so moving. We all wish that it will never be that one special person that we hold so dear and the author manages to showcase this perfectly"

    I truly hope that you are able to overcome your pain and are able to look on the brighter side of the past memories!

  • 11 years ago

    by Donnie

    I lost my dad on Nob. 10, 2012. I thimk of him every day. While reading this poem I felt it im my heart. Great poem

  • 11 years ago

    by Donnie

    I lost my dad on Nob. 10, 2012. I thimk of him every day. While reading this poem I felt it im my heart. Great poem

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