How long does a man live after all?
A thousand days or only one?
One week or a few centuries?
How long does a man spend living or dying
and what do we mean when we say gone forever?
Adrift in such preoccupations, we seek clarification.
We can go to the philosophers
but they will weary of our questions.
We can go to the priests and rabbis
but they might be busy with administrations.
So, how long does a man live after all?
And how much does he live while he lives?
We fret and ask so many questions -
then when it comes to us
the answer is so simple after all.
A man lives for as long as we carry him inside us,
for as long as we carry the harvest of his dreams,
for as long as we ourselves live,
holding memories in common, a man lives.
His lover will carry his man's scent, his touch:
his children will carry the weight of his love.
One friend will carry his arguments,
another will hum his favourite tunes,
another will still share his terrors.
And the days will pass with baffled faces,
then the weeks, then the months,
then there will be a day when no question is asked,
and the knots of grief will loosen in the stomach
and the puffed faces will calm.
And on that day he will not have ceased
but will have ceased to be separated by death.
How long does a man live after all?
A man lives so many different lengths of time.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The journey to hogmanay
At noon a heron flies low north of Preston ..... 12.07 a second heron stands proud in a field.
One tree has kept a head of brown curly leaves much to the envy of his bald brothers.
A church sleeps waiting to be woken for the 'watchnight.'
...still travelling North
The folly of Lancaster announces that we are 1/3 there
The river Lune is crossed and the hills that mark The Lakes are upon us
We wave to some excitedly waving children as our cars pass .... it is exciting ....I am excited
Inside our car we wonder whether it is light in Space
J. mentions that we have passed a car advertising hydrotherapy for dogs ..... now a sign for a dog behaviourist..... If I were a dog is this the place to live or to avoid?
...We are being pulled northwards and upwards as our ears muffle and it drops from 10'c to 8'c
There is just one ribbon of snow left on a hill
We pass Kendal and my teeth wince thinking of mint cake and its shocking sweetness
The wind farm stands petrified and it rains
Rarely do we reach Shap without rain
We are inside a cloud midway between home and hogmanay
At Teebay Services Heron No 3 passes by just an arms reach away.
I love herons ....they look wrapped in the past ...to see 3 must be lucky .... not that I believe in portents but if I did this would be one, a good one I have decided
At Biggar in the centre of the road they have built a giant bonfire to mark the end of one year and the beginning of the next. 2 days later on our way home it still smoulders ...the old year refusing to end neatly.....
And we arrive in this city of beautiful stone and even more extraordinary spaces..... of gaps.... of secrets..... of whispers
This time we fill in another corner ..... Strangely I possess a sense of direction in Edinburgh .... I know which way to go ....
And it's the last night of 2010
....We have tickets onto the Street ... There are others like us but most are young.
New Year is not a favourite time but this year in this city of ghosts I am going to lay some to rest.
One tree has kept a head of brown curly leaves much to the envy of his bald brothers.
A church sleeps waiting to be woken for the 'watchnight.'
...still travelling North
The folly of Lancaster announces that we are 1/3 there
The river Lune is crossed and the hills that mark The Lakes are upon us
We wave to some excitedly waving children as our cars pass .... it is exciting ....I am excited
Inside our car we wonder whether it is light in Space
J. mentions that we have passed a car advertising hydrotherapy for dogs ..... now a sign for a dog behaviourist..... If I were a dog is this the place to live or to avoid?
...We are being pulled northwards and upwards as our ears muffle and it drops from 10'c to 8'c
There is just one ribbon of snow left on a hill
We pass Kendal and my teeth wince thinking of mint cake and its shocking sweetness
The wind farm stands petrified and it rains
Rarely do we reach Shap without rain
We are inside a cloud midway between home and hogmanay
At Teebay Services Heron No 3 passes by just an arms reach away.
I love herons ....they look wrapped in the past ...to see 3 must be lucky .... not that I believe in portents but if I did this would be one, a good one I have decided
At Biggar in the centre of the road they have built a giant bonfire to mark the end of one year and the beginning of the next. 2 days later on our way home it still smoulders ...the old year refusing to end neatly.....
And we arrive in this city of beautiful stone and even more extraordinary spaces..... of gaps.... of secrets..... of whispers
This time we fill in another corner ..... Strangely I possess a sense of direction in Edinburgh .... I know which way to go ....
And it's the last night of 2010
....We have tickets onto the Street ... There are others like us but most are young.
New Year is not a favourite time but this year in this city of ghosts I am going to lay some to rest.
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