0100H 10.1.72
Oh God...
death is near...
.
There's no fear,
Just a tear...
Miles from nowhere.
So much...
left to do...!
Life is through,
Never knew,
War would end there...
Life's erosion...
Explosion...
Oh, Death, why make me wait?
My lungs...
cannot breathe....
Can't believe,
Cannot grieve,
Heart is rending.
My love...
can you tell...
My heart swell?
Sad farewell?
Our love ending?
Life's erosion....
Explosion....
Oh, Death, why make me wait?
Now feel...
fire rage...
As my page,
On this stage,
Comes to ending.
But God...
can it be?
Down on knee,
Tenderly...
Comprehending...
One more chance.
A new dance.
As Death just walks away.
©Copyright January 2006 by Richard W. Reith
Author’s Note: This poem about an explosion in Nam, and the other I have just submitted about the joy of love (Love's Own Reverie), are of the exact same rhyming scheme. There is a background song on my site called Moonlight Serenade, an old Big Band standard. I was checking out my site and that was the last page I saw the other night. The tune haunted me – such a wonderful flowing piece of music. These poems were written slowly as the song ran through my mind – and the interesting thing is that those poems, on diametrically opposed subjects, were written at the same time, back and forth.
Rich Reith
February 11, 2006