Greenhaven Cemetery
Joe Strickland 1986 (Hobbysville, SC)
what a morbid childhood.
I remember
walking throughout
the cemetery
that my daddy
worked at
trying
to become accustomed
with what
would be
my true future.
and thus,
I saw the dead
sought rest,
still as leaves
beneath fierce storms,
and I stood amongst
their fading stories,
unfolding
like the veins
of aged hands.
those tombstones,
rows upon rows,
in pebbled prose
of remembrance,
etched names
that whispered secrets
to the winds,
rustling through time's grip.
I longed
to become a part
of that eternal chorus,
echoes of sorrow,
celebration,
or sins confessed,
no judgement reserved
for the silent stones.
but life,
with its relentless grip,
claimed me
and kept me tethered
to its relentless cadence,
its cruel coil
of banal existence
and self-discovery.
there were no
tranquil graves for me,
no soft embrace
of mossy morning dew.
I walked,
not amongst
the peaceful dead,
but alongside
the broken
and the damned.
and here I am,
a wanderer
of wretchedness,
trying to become
accustomed with what
has been my true future,
as Hank
raucously sings
his truths in verse.
the graveyard
now within my veins,
a morbid childhood
etched upon my memory,
I write these words,
echoes of whispered regrets
and unfulfilled dreams
resonating within me.
About this poem
This poem explores the speaker's childhood experiences in a cemetery and reflects upon their yearning to become a part of the peaceful and timeless world of the dead. The graveyard acts as a metaphor for the speaker's desire for a different, more profound existence that transcends mundane life. However, the grip of life, with its banality and constraints, keeps the speaker tethered to an existence filled with brokenness and damnation.
Written on December 16, 2023
Submitted by JoeStrickland on December 16, 2023
- 1:22 min read
- 16 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXCCXDXECB FGHXXIXDJX KLLMXXXN XXFOPHXK XNCXMXMC OCXXXIGXPX XBFXEBXXX XJACXXXC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic dimeter |
Characters | 1,283 |
Words | 274 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 10, 8, 8, 8, 10, 9, 8 |
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"Greenhaven Cemetery" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/176246/greenhaven-cemetery>.
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