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When Death Comes ( After Mary Oliver )
When death comes,
let them say I mastered
the anatomy of words,
that my life was poetry.
Let them say I humbled
that bulwark of ego—
that bane of pride,
leaving a quiet legacy.
Not with the flying colors
of a Rainbow lorikeet
capturing its beholder's eye;
but, a female cardinal—
her lackluster appearance
ensuring the nest survives.
Let them, despite my human
mistakes and many faults,
say I at least loved poetry—
that my Spirit became a poem, a bird,
a cardinal nesting in a cup of words.
~
let them say I mastered
the anatomy of words,
that my life was poetry.
Let them say I humbled
that bulwark of ego—
that bane of pride,
leaving a quiet legacy.
Not with the flying colors
of a Rainbow lorikeet
capturing its beholder's eye;
but, a female cardinal—
her lackluster appearance
ensuring the nest survives.
Let them, despite my human
mistakes and many faults,
say I at least loved poetry—
that my Spirit became a poem, a bird,
a cardinal nesting in a cup of words.
~
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