Courtesy Call
The Reaper isn't always grim...44 total reviews
Comment from Norbanus
Once when I was younger and invincible as hell
I met a man who'd done his time (and he'd done it well)
He needed no reminded the reaper stalked his path
His four score and more had shown him all nature's wrath
My friend had no regrets to offer for his wasted youth
And told me of his arrogance, his rudeness and uncouth
But now he saw that dust to dust was closing on his heels
And tried to pass the word along of just how sad that feels
In those days of my ignorance, I failed to catch the drift
Our perch upon the hill of life left far too large a rift
Now my four score has also gone I feel the reapers breath
And recognize my friends resign at his approaching death
Thank you for reminding me of those days long ago
of a man who tried to tell me what I didn't know
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Once when I was younger and invincible as hell
I met a man who'd done his time (and he'd done it well)
He needed no reminded the reaper stalked his path
His four score and more had shown him all nature's wrath
My friend had no regrets to offer for his wasted youth
And told me of his arrogance, his rudeness and uncouth
But now he saw that dust to dust was closing on his heels
And tried to pass the word along of just how sad that feels
In those days of my ignorance, I failed to catch the drift
Our perch upon the hill of life left far too large a rift
Now my four score has also gone I feel the reapers breath
And recognize my friends resign at his approaching death
Thank you for reminding me of those days long ago
of a man who tried to tell me what I didn't know
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Norbanus, this is EXCELLENT, my friend. Very wise, humorous, and adept. I always enjoy it. Thank you.
Comment from w.j.debi
I read this poem this morning, but was in a hurry and decided I would have to come back later for a closer look.
First of all, I found the tale intriguing. It's a bit creepy with a great message so it gives one pause. It gets the emotions going and the mind considering the choices made in life and how life should be lived from this moment forward.
Second of all, I am just learning iambic meter and this flows so well that I wanted to study the construction, including the internal rhymes you use. This is an interesting form.
The vivid descriptions and imagery were what first caught my attention, but this is worthy of the study on many levels. Thank you for sharing it.
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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I read this poem this morning, but was in a hurry and decided I would have to come back later for a closer look.
First of all, I found the tale intriguing. It's a bit creepy with a great message so it gives one pause. It gets the emotions going and the mind considering the choices made in life and how life should be lived from this moment forward.
Second of all, I am just learning iambic meter and this flows so well that I wanted to study the construction, including the internal rhymes you use. This is an interesting form.
The vivid descriptions and imagery were what first caught my attention, but this is worthy of the study on many levels. Thank you for sharing it.
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Thank you so much, w.j. debi, for taking the time to read and analyze the poem, and also for your sixer. I really appreciate your kind words and great review.
Comment from Mastery
Yo, dave. I'm back. sorry I have missed so much fo your work. You are one great rhyming poet, my friend:
"Consider this your warning, and the only one I?ll give,
And come the bitter morning, rise a better man, and live.
He faded back, then vanished in the blackness of the night
As if impaired and banished by the glare of morning light,"
Bravo! Bob
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Yo, dave. I'm back. sorry I have missed so much fo your work. You are one great rhyming poet, my friend:
"Consider this your warning, and the only one I?ll give,
And come the bitter morning, rise a better man, and live.
He faded back, then vanished in the blackness of the night
As if impaired and banished by the glare of morning light,"
Bravo! Bob
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Thank you SO much, Bob! I'm looking forward to being able to read your next book from the beginning. I know what you mean about reviewing time. I really appreciate the sixer, too, my friend.
Comment from Acquired Taste
This is exactly the kind of poetry that moves me. I like this so much.
The artwork is perfect, your rhythm is fabulous and the message is not only important - but clear.
Thanks for this Rogue.....
AT=/
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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This is exactly the kind of poetry that moves me. I like this so much.
The artwork is perfect, your rhythm is fabulous and the message is not only important - but clear.
Thanks for this Rogue.....
AT=/
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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AT, thank you SO much for that sixer, and for your great review. I really appreciate it! David
Comment from closetpoetjester
Oooh hot off the press indeed. What a wonderful message here about wasted opportunity and how the time is NOW to make good. Teach others with the lessons you've learned and make your mark in a volatile world that gives NO second chances. Once you're beyond salvation you've taken his hand. Sounds like your reaper called in, just in time mate.
Sometimes we've got to NEARLY hit rock bottom to get the wakeup call we need. This almost goes hand in hand as a follow on to your last write. From the evaluation of a life wasting away and the resignation that comes with it to a stern warning that if you don't choose a different fork in the road, there won't be a road of opportunity left to travel. Loved your rhyme pattern...you truly are a master m'lord.
So...I'm assuming by this the Rogue has had his warning and shall be turning over a new leaf right? LOL I'm kidding, he's harmless. The reaper can perhaps let him slip by but he certainly needs to go give that Junkie a bit of what for.
Stern advice that should be heeded by anyone travelling down that slippery slope of no return. Terrific write, mate but Management has screwed me out of sixers for you lately. I give a 5...if you take your glasses off and squint it DOES look like a 6. Haha Best I can do, you champion.
Hugs P
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Oooh hot off the press indeed. What a wonderful message here about wasted opportunity and how the time is NOW to make good. Teach others with the lessons you've learned and make your mark in a volatile world that gives NO second chances. Once you're beyond salvation you've taken his hand. Sounds like your reaper called in, just in time mate.
Sometimes we've got to NEARLY hit rock bottom to get the wakeup call we need. This almost goes hand in hand as a follow on to your last write. From the evaluation of a life wasting away and the resignation that comes with it to a stern warning that if you don't choose a different fork in the road, there won't be a road of opportunity left to travel. Loved your rhyme pattern...you truly are a master m'lord.
So...I'm assuming by this the Rogue has had his warning and shall be turning over a new leaf right? LOL I'm kidding, he's harmless. The reaper can perhaps let him slip by but he certainly needs to go give that Junkie a bit of what for.
Stern advice that should be heeded by anyone travelling down that slippery slope of no return. Terrific write, mate but Management has screwed me out of sixers for you lately. I give a 5...if you take your glasses off and squint it DOES look like a 6. Haha Best I can do, you champion.
Hugs P
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Thank you so much, my friend. You never know what'll come to you when you're snowbound, but I had fun with this one. I didn't even think about it being a companion piece to the other, but you're right!
No, a leaf is NOT what the rogue will be turning over, m'lady, but it's a nice thought, as David doesn't really want his nuts roasted, cooked, or anywhere but one warm place.
Management is a bitch, but I've squinted and reconciled myself with the fiver from your sweet fingers. Many thanks, P. You always make me smile. The rogue, I think, cringes, but he deserves that!
Comment from paulah60
First, 'A Dual (Beginning) At Dawn', then, 'Junkie', and now, 'Courtesy Call' in what's shaping up as a trilogy.
In the life/death/life cycle, we 'die' with regularity! But this particular piece speaks to that terrible time in our life when our addictions have reached their expiry date, and we bottom out. Not everyone does; anyone who has will GET this. To have the Reaper appear is a humbling experience, and a 'wake-up call' indeed.
I'm glad you said, 'And knew the seeds were sowing for the living, not the dead' because that's the reality of it. 'The courtesy call' might effect a 180 degree turn, but there's still much work to be done.
'I stood up tall and proudly, made a vow to never fall': My initial reaction to this line was to challenge it because "falling" becomes an essential part of the Phoenix experience, but then I realised that when we have this meeting with the Reaper, there is a sense of invincibility, and in our joy and...naivete, perhaps, we think this is it! It's only with increasing awareness and practice that falling from grace evolves into falling WITH grace!
'But home is where you choose it, and the choice is yours to make': love this one! A reminder that home is not a place as much as it is a feeling!
Awesome stuff David, and that you wrote it just like that, oh what can I say?! You inspiring man!!!
Cheers
Paula
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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First, 'A Dual (Beginning) At Dawn', then, 'Junkie', and now, 'Courtesy Call' in what's shaping up as a trilogy.
In the life/death/life cycle, we 'die' with regularity! But this particular piece speaks to that terrible time in our life when our addictions have reached their expiry date, and we bottom out. Not everyone does; anyone who has will GET this. To have the Reaper appear is a humbling experience, and a 'wake-up call' indeed.
I'm glad you said, 'And knew the seeds were sowing for the living, not the dead' because that's the reality of it. 'The courtesy call' might effect a 180 degree turn, but there's still much work to be done.
'I stood up tall and proudly, made a vow to never fall': My initial reaction to this line was to challenge it because "falling" becomes an essential part of the Phoenix experience, but then I realised that when we have this meeting with the Reaper, there is a sense of invincibility, and in our joy and...naivete, perhaps, we think this is it! It's only with increasing awareness and practice that falling from grace evolves into falling WITH grace!
'But home is where you choose it, and the choice is yours to make': love this one! A reminder that home is not a place as much as it is a feeling!
Awesome stuff David, and that you wrote it just like that, oh what can I say?! You inspiring man!!!
Cheers
Paula
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2014
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Paula, until P said something, I didn't even consider that I was in a pattern with these, but leave it to you and your big brain (love that in a woman) to put it all together. You've taken my poem and showed ME what it was, and THAT, my friend, is a rare talent. I SO appreciate you, and if I say it more than you want to hear it, it still can't be said enough.
Plus, you've showed yourself as a humorist without equal, except maybe for P. The two of you make me want to bring myself to Oz, if others are like you.
D
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What lovely compliments David. I find your work so easy to "read" (into), but I suspect that's because we're operating at very much the same level.
It's a pleasure for me too. I don't come across too many like you on this site. There's one other Aussie, who's also a 'deep sea diver' and produces some really sublime work, but he's gone AWOL for the last couple of months. Like P and me, he's not just Aussie, but hails from the same home town!
And yeah, come to Oz...we'll show you a good time LOL
Comment from CrystieCookie999
Some interesting lines here such as:
his voice possessed a scowl.
and
You?ve managed and you?ve mastered all the lies you learned to tell
I wasn't sure what 'seeking the existential' would do for someone, but perhaps I am confusing it with 'existentialism.'
It's a good goal to live less with regret and a bigger emphasis on getting better every day.
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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Some interesting lines here such as:
his voice possessed a scowl.
and
You?ve managed and you?ve mastered all the lies you learned to tell
I wasn't sure what 'seeking the existential' would do for someone, but perhaps I am confusing it with 'existentialism.'
It's a good goal to live less with regret and a bigger emphasis on getting better every day.
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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Thanks so much, Crystie. Seeking the existential is about making your own choices, in this case. I appreciate your great review.
Comment from janalma
You just keep this up, don't you? What do you think--I'm made out of sixes? I read this poem and as I did it gave
me goose bumps. Wonderful.
"You?ll find your body planted and your spirit set to writhe
Alone in purgatory, like a phantom damned to roam,
A cautionary story, and a ghost without a home."
The part above reminded me of Dicken's 'Scrooge.'
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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You just keep this up, don't you? What do you think--I'm made out of sixes? I read this poem and as I did it gave
me goose bumps. Wonderful.
"You?ll find your body planted and your spirit set to writhe
Alone in purgatory, like a phantom damned to roam,
A cautionary story, and a ghost without a home."
The part above reminded me of Dicken's 'Scrooge.'
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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I wish I could say I'm sorry, janalma, but I'm just grateful that you like my work that much. :-) Thanks so much for your kindness and enthusiasm, my friend. I really appreciate it.
Comment from L.A.Matthies
Wow David, not only do I love the subject matter, but the technique is nothing short of exceptional! To maintain the perfect rhyme scheme is one thing ...internally as well(impressive) ...a gorgeous piece. Perhaps you should get snowed in more often :)Linda
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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Wow David, not only do I love the subject matter, but the technique is nothing short of exceptional! To maintain the perfect rhyme scheme is one thing ...internally as well(impressive) ...a gorgeous piece. Perhaps you should get snowed in more often :)Linda
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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Linda, thank you SO much for the sixer, my friend, and the enthusiastic review. I really appreciate that. I wish I could NOT be snowed in and still have the time to just relax and do this.
Comment from Just2Write
Geez, David. A vision like this one would surely sent us straight. I liked the italic print for the words the Reaper used.
I?m coming to remind you that I?m always waiting here.
The first two words of that line made me laugh with delicious terror.
This poem (and apparent epiphany) is magnificent and the words just tumble off the tongue when read out loud.
Great message from both the Reaper and the writer.
Rose
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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Geez, David. A vision like this one would surely sent us straight. I liked the italic print for the words the Reaper used.
I?m coming to remind you that I?m always waiting here.
The first two words of that line made me laugh with delicious terror.
This poem (and apparent epiphany) is magnificent and the words just tumble off the tongue when read out loud.
Great message from both the Reaper and the writer.
Rose
Comment Written 13-Feb-2014
reply by the author on 13-Feb-2014
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Rose, I really appreciate that sixer, my friend, and your great review. Thank you so much.