#cemtery
I was walking in the cemetery,
a place where death sits quietly among grass, bush and trees,
where grief is softened by green,
where the living come to forget and remember.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves.
Birdsong floated, indifferent and kind.
Graves stood in silence
some proud, built with stone too heavy for the dead,
others modest, marked by trees,
their roots winding down
into stories no one tells anymore.
Most had flowers.
Bouquets like offerings,
some fresh, some already fading.
Life pretending it can outlast death.
Then I saw it
a tulip, maroon,
its head bowed, its stem bent
not plucked,
but broken while still alive.
It hadn’t been laid there in tribute.
It was growing.
Rooted.
Alive.
And dying.
It leaned on the edge of a grave
like a mourner
who had run out of words.
Its siblings stood tall beside it,
still laughing in color,
still reaching for the sky,
unaware of their fallen one
or perhaps resigned to the order of things.
There was something tragic in its solitude.
A flower that had come to give beauty
and now was dying
on dust already claimed by death.
The irony was sharp
even the beautiful who serve the dead
must die too.
And no one brings flowers
for the flower that dies.
I stood still.
The tulip did not move.
A breeze passed, but it did not rise.
Some deaths happen quietly,
with no audience,
no cry,
just a slow fading
into the soil.
And I wondered
Is this what we are?
Not stone,
not names,
but small, nameless offerings
meant to bloom once,
to bow quietly,
and to vanish
without sound
while the world keeps walking.
May 17, 2025
May 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM UTC
Close Your Heart
Say of me I am living still
Because the smell of God
fills my nostrils
Say of me that I am living still
Because the Devil’s
laughter fills my ears
Say of me I am living still
Because the ghost of my past
still haunts my present
Say of me that I am living still
Because while my mind is
in Heaven,
my body is in Hell.
Say of me I am living still
Because the heart inside
of me,
is no longer mine
Say of me I am living still
Because when I see
the light
I run towards it
Say of me that I am living still
Because the life
I wanted was
not grasped with
loving hands
Say of me I am living still
Because my words to God
went unanswered
Say of me I am living still
Because the self-control
I’ve never withheld
has been stolen
within moments
Say of me that I am living still
Because the light
at the end of
the tunnel
has been snuffed
out
Say of me I am living still
Because the laughter
has turned into
forbidden screams
Say of me I am living still
Because happiness
was never an
option
Say of me I am living still
Because the smiles
were all porcelain
Say of me I am living still
Because the choice
of life was
never mine
to make
Say of me I am living still
Because when I
look into your
face
all I see is
melancholy smiles
Say of me I am living still
Because the tidal
waves of my life
are beginning to
pull me under
Say of me I am living still
Because even though
you know how
to surf life’s waves
You’ve never taught
me
Say of me I am living still
Because the monsters
lurking in the
shadows
are now in
the light
Say of me I am living still
Because the stars
are now black holes
Say of me I am living still
Because the lyrics of your
love have faded
into tattered
music sheets
Say of me I am living still
Because the blue of your
eyes have turned
cerulean
Say of me I am living still
Because Romeo and
Juliet have turned
into a faded
fiction
Say of me I am living still
Because the sun
no longer illuminates
my mind
Say of me I am living still
Because your laughter
has turned into
nothing but poignant
static
Say of me I am living still
Because God has
forbidden me to
enter the gates
of Heaven
Say of me I am living still
Because Lucifer has
invited me for
a strong drink
Say that I am living still
Because my mind
is no longer clear;
but is home to
demons
Say of me I am living still
Because those words
were never carved onto
my grave. -DDF
Sep 23, 2015
Sep 23, 2015 at 8:52 PM UTC