Survivors

Survivors

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Devil His Due

by Steve King
© 2005
All rights reserved


The seasons of death have come and gone
And yet will come again, and go again.
And so will death itself live on and on,
replenished by our dying.


         * * * * * * * *

"Make a pretty song for me,"
said that other voice I hear,
"fit to move a mourning throng,
somber as they gather near.

"Harvest nightshade with your words
and spin it into brightest wreathes;
draw fine colors from despair
and paint them on a winding sheet.

"Stand bold reason on its head
and sing of tales to raise the dead;
find in silence things unsaid,
and conjure hopes to cure their dread.

"Your piecework suits me for the wage
to let you linger through your age;
for even Death, that labors long,
enjoys his labor with a song.

"Do these pretty chores for me
in gentle toil of sympathy;
a joyless duty, you will say,
though you would do it, anyway;

"And I will seek for other kin,
those without rhymes, or airs to spin,
and leave you safely with your muse,
to succor me, it's yours to choose..."

And so I dip the poison pen,
to sing so Death may dance again,
songs I never dare to end,
while he another does befriend.

16 comments:

  1. Such fun rhyme play here today, the devil can keep his chores though and that poision pen just has to go.

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  2. Well, you anthropomorphize death and make him dance to your tune..."draw fine colors from despair and paint them on a winding sheet..dark and beautiful imagry. A beautifully crafted piece!

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  3. Wow! I really loved this. The pacing, the tale, the gentle rhymes. Really lovely. K.

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  4. Beautiful words.. I love it.

    These lines resonate with me:

    Harvest nightshade with your words
    and spin it into brightest wreathes;
    draw fine colors from despair
    and paint them on a winding sheet.

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  5. life in death... interesting how you dressed it up

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  6. wow excellent use of rhyme and dance within your words...write on that death might leave you alone a bit, i just wonder who it is he might be visiting...

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  7. Lovely rhyme and rhythm, Steve. I especially like this:

    Stand bold reason on its head
    and sing of tales to raise the dead;
    find in silence things unsaid,
    and conjure hopes to cure their dread.

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  8. Lovely, my favorite lines...And so I dip the poison pen,
    to sing so Death may dance again,
    songs I never dare to end,
    while he another does befriend.

    Love it!

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  9. I loved the ending to this piece! Excellent rhyme and word choice!

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  10. Beautiful rhythm and rhyme with great thoughts woven so lovingly... I enjoyed it so much...


    Shashi
    ॐ नमः शिवाय
    Om Namah Shivaya
    http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/11/whispers-where-you-will-go.html

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  11. Steve...this is classic! I LOVE it! Wonderful weaving, Poet!

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  12. I agree with Tasha, this is a classic. It treats of classic themes and the meter and rhyme are flawless.

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  13. i also like the rhythm and the rhyme..very much like a song and felt like being carried on those waves..

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  14. Hey Steve

    "Do these pretty chores for me
    in gentle toil of sympathy;"

    Some fine writing here my friend. A great read.

    Arron Shilling

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  15. Lovely Victoriana in the vocabulary of toil and winding sheets. I enjoy Death's knowingness in "a joyless duty, you will say, though you would do it, anyway".

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  16. I've been watching hours of period pieces deep into the night. This poem spins naturally from that.

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