The Day My Father Died
The day my father died
I could not cry;
My mother cried,
Not I.
His face on the pillow
In the dim light
Wrote mourning to me,
Black and white.
We saw him struggle,
Stiffen, relax;
The face fell empty,
Dead as wax.
I'd read of death
But never seen.
My father's face, I swear,
Was not serene;
Topple that lie,
However appealing:
That face was abscence
Of all feeling.
My mother's tears were my tears,
Each sob shook me:
The pain of death is living,
The dead are free.
For me my father's death
Was my mother's sorrow;
That day was her day,
Loss was tomorrow.
Mervyn Morris The Pond, 1973
I could not cry;
My mother cried,
Not I.
His face on the pillow
In the dim light
Wrote mourning to me,
Black and white.
We saw him struggle,
Stiffen, relax;
The face fell empty,
Dead as wax.
I'd read of death
But never seen.
My father's face, I swear,
Was not serene;
Topple that lie,
However appealing:
That face was abscence
Of all feeling.
My mother's tears were my tears,
Each sob shook me:
The pain of death is living,
The dead are free.
For me my father's death
Was my mother's sorrow;
That day was her day,
Loss was tomorrow.
Mervyn Morris The Pond, 1973
posted by Kékéli at 14:05
6 Comments:
good poem
i've always loved this poem; a week after i first read it the love of my life (my grandmother) transcended this life into paradise, leaving me in my grief and longing for her....i was in morris's homecountry jamaica.
this was the first poem i learn i love it
I found this poem when my father died in 1987 and it has stuck in my mind since. I remember everything like it was yesterday.My mother really cried because she was physically blind at the time and he was her physical sight.However,words cannot explain this type of experience. I sometimes wonder what the writer was going through when he/she wrote this poem?
Anonymous, this poem struck a chord especially the day of his funeral. It was about my mother's loss of a husband. She was allowed/expected to cry, but we children were required to be "strong" to support her. This wasn't space for us to mourn on that day. Everyday since then I feel the loss though.
Kékéli
I was very pleased to find this poem on line, and appreciate your placing it. Just a small point: 'absence' not 'absence'.
Best wishes
Tom
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