Bouquets
By John Masella
The week after his death, his daughters placed
Flowers around his headstone. There it stood,
As if a freshly painted home. They faced
His absence with these works, as if they could
Prevent his truly dying, making him
A beacon in a field of graying graves
Whose flame, if stoked enough, would never dim.
Funny the way the living lot behaves,
Commemorating life with ornaments.
It is the way of families to mark
A finished life with trinkets, while the sense
That he has left forever grows - the dark
Recess of love his passing slashed in space
Is felt with every memory that frays
When never mentioned, just as though his place
With us could be preserved by some bouquets.
John Masella is a poet from northern New Jersey. Influenced by the likes of Philip Larkin, John’s work leans on realism and accessible language to explore themes of impermanence, missed opportunity, reflection.
I find the rhyme scheme very intriguing: 'placed' in the first verse; 'graves' in the second; nothing in the third; and then 'space' and 'prays' in the fourth verse, as if the two earlier verses were coming together, after suffering a temporary eclipse. Which after all echoes the meaning of the poem.
I especially like the closing lines of "Bouquets":
...just as though his place
With us could be preserved by some bouquets.
Bravo!