Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Dead Man Walking

Some friends gave me this bottle of wine for Day of the Dead.
It was very good.

"Death is our eternal companion.  It is always to our left, an arm's length behind us.                            
Carlos Castaneda






He was a dead man walking
in a dimension only he knew
of isolation, frustration, desperation.
He yearned for dreary mornings
instead of all that light
disturbing his inner sanctum 
where his complaints multiplied
exponentially as he viewed the world
in judgment of its people, struggling
for a non-existent happiness  
dangling - the proverbial carrot.

Not him.  He knew enough to give up,
to be brave, go through motions
of living while becoming
more and more dead.

Until he saw death's face
imprinted on his body,
impossible to erase.
Then he wanted to
walk with life,
but it was too late.








19 comments:

  1. Oh this is a stunning write. And likely a fairly frequent occurrence. We always act like there is always more time. Until there isnt.

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  2. Too late we learned that there is more to life than going through the motions like a dead man walking ~

    Hey, I love your share Myrna ~ Your muse is not dead dear ~

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  3. what a sad story...giving up...giving in...and then the realization in the end that maybe life is the way...but too late...i know a few like this....

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  4. Love the merlot (one of my favourite tipples).
    Love the melancholy of the poem too - chances squandered...

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  5. how many of us what until it's too late to want to live life? too many... That's something I always keep with me: I push myself to live each day in way that when I lie down to sleep, there are no regrets circling my conscience.

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  6. How sad to lead one's life as a dead man and then long for life when it is far too late! I am afraid this is true for more than a few people.

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  7. Very sad, Myrna. Too many people wait until it is too late to know the importance of living.

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  8. it is sad when some of the alive people are more dead than alive... the frustration and hopelessness...and sad when they realize only at a point when it's too late already..

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  9. So sad.. To be dead already as living.. But finding out too late that death is really a one-way street...

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  10. Ahh.. the cycles of death in life.. amazing to me what of life and death in life.. we do control in life.. and thoughts of death...

    Some folks terrified to live.. and some folks live to terrify..

    and then there are those..

    who do just live.. and let live.. and never die..
    at least
    in
    live..:)

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  11. to be more dead than alive is a dark place to be, especially when realization hits too late.

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  12. Too many people "live" this way, missing the beauty, the gifts, the blessings abundant in connecting with others, with the present.

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  13. ahhh... Don Juan.... I still think I see death dance just beyond my left shoulder - sometimes he has been closer than I would like.

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  14. Myrna, a well-written comment on how too many view life and death. So much is missed by this attitude.

    janet

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  15. Tragic. This makes me think of depression (which I have much familial and personal experience). Living like this is so draining. Thankfully, there is hope for coming out of it but it is a difficult challenge.

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  16. Moral of the story enjoy life while you can as we never know what the road holds ahead. Great Message Myrna..

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  17. Duly warned! Makes me think of "Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn ... " and just as intriguing. I can imagine switching into a different plane of activity, but not giving up.

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  18. there's almost no second chance in this life and the choice in ours so we should better be judicious enough to leave the world with no regret...nice thoughts Myrna...

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