In Memory of the Dead
The sacred place where beauty is kept alive in memory of the dead.
May Sarton – Plant Dreaming Deep
Not existing,
but flourishing,
creating,
astonished by the soft colors
of the sky at dawn
or a spider’s pattern of filaments
woven across the space under the porch –
this I do in memory of the dead.
I am their place in the world now,
my remembrance of them
what remains of their time.
I restore their laughter,
delicate strands of hair,
bright eyes,
when I stir up the past
to season the present.
My laughter is their song
sustained and celebrated,
a reliquary for their brief
but shimmering lives.
I persist, determined to experience
whatever joys
they were denied by death.
I like to think
they would have done
the same for me,
had I left them suddenly
some years before.
Laura Bayless is the author of four collections of poetry, The Edge of the Nest, White Streams and Touchstones, Persistent Dreams and most recently Chairs in the River. Her poems have appeared in local and national publications, and anthologies, including Porter Gulch Review, The Homestead Review, and Blue Heron. She is co-editor of an award-winning compilation of stories and poems about the Carmel River – Passion for Place. In addition to writing poetry, Laura explores additional creativity through collage and photography.
The sacred place where beauty is kept alive in memory of the dead.
May Sarton – Plant Dreaming Deep
Not existing,
but flourishing,
creating,
astonished by the soft colors
of the sky at dawn
or a spider’s pattern of filaments
woven across the space under the porch –
this I do in memory of the dead.
I am their place in the world now,
my remembrance of them
what remains of their time.
I restore their laughter,
delicate strands of hair,
bright eyes,
when I stir up the past
to season the present.
My laughter is their song
sustained and celebrated,
a reliquary for their brief
but shimmering lives.
I persist, determined to experience
whatever joys
they were denied by death.
I like to think
they would have done
the same for me,
had I left them suddenly
some years before.
Laura Bayless is the author of four collections of poetry, The Edge of the Nest, White Streams and Touchstones, Persistent Dreams and most recently Chairs in the River. Her poems have appeared in local and national publications, and anthologies, including Porter Gulch Review, The Homestead Review, and Blue Heron. She is co-editor of an award-winning compilation of stories and poems about the Carmel River – Passion for Place. In addition to writing poetry, Laura explores additional creativity through collage and photography.
