Elegy
Not a word of scripture
to be quoted
over these bones but, at
graveside,
he would have tolerated a
short, silent prayer.
He took it as it came;
for what it was worth.
Good for the sake of
righteousness.
Honest in the cause of
truth.
Brave for honor’s sake.
Kind by decree of the
human heart.
He’d put aside any
fanciful notions
of heavenly reward or his
possible rebirth –
(he was convinced of his
own annihilation)
and thus, resolutely, he
went to his death.
Quietly cherishing joy,
enduring the pain,
he came closer to
surrender
than any religious man I
know. If he lacked anything,
it was the imagination
and longing to be anything
other than the man he
was.
As they lower his body
now into the grave
I am struck by how
closely
a coffin resembles a
crib.
O child of God, to surrender
is to yield,
earnestly and humbly, to
your destiny.
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