A SONNET FOR ONE NO LONGER HERE By John Grey

A SONNET FOR ONE NO LONGER HERE

I am so very tired of grim tombstones,
Meaningless names and dates, flowers as dead
As the ones buried beneath me. Instead
I'd rather celebrate life, not the groans.
Moans, the elegies. Nothing here atones
For an argument unresolved, a head
Slaked to its own regret. If 1 have said
The wrong thing, why apologize to bones?
 
In my memory, closure is achieved;
The better days, love, laughter, not the bleak
Funerals, grave-yards. I have always believed
That life lived is the essence. So I speak
As if she is here with me. I'm relieved
By reminiscing, knowing where to seek.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Soundings East, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in West Trade Review, Willard and Maple and Connecticut River Review.