My sister passed away a few months ago. When I describe how I look at it, it is like in the olden days, if someone left to homestead or settle a new place, there was no way to keep in contact, you may or may not have been able to send and receive letters. I feel that way about my sister Gayle, that she has gone to settle a new place, I won’t see her again in this life, but she has just gone to a new place. And that like the olden days, the best way to send word or a letter was via someone traveling into the same territory.
Last week we learned that my Grandfather was ailing. His readying to pass has been on my mind. My sister and brother visited him yesterday.
I wrote this poem this morning, and by noon had received word that my Grandfather had passed away during the night. Adieu, and give our regards to Gayle.
A One Way Communiqué.
A metered mass migration to an ‘other’ country,
pioneers all to this new frontier.
My sister is there, Grandpa readying to go.
Julie says, “tell her we love and miss her”.
He says, “I will ....”, and the rest is lost.
No letters or photos will come back,
a one-way communiqué.
I am trying to come up with a good way to say this ‘other’ country, to express heaven, without getting confusing. I don’t think ‘other’ country does the job, but is the best I can think of. ‘The farthest country’? ‘The hidden country’?
4 comments:
I am unskilled at poetry except the kind that obviously rhymes. What about world unseen, over yonder, land of love, country mystique, blurred borders, country beyond our senses...nah, none of mine works. But I like what you've written and think it beautiful.
That is a serenely beautiful little poem. I'm sure she knows of your thoughts of her, even without your grandpa as messenger. That was very common in pioneer days, when people were more comfortable with death -- they had no qualms about rushing to the side of a dying person and essentially saying, since you're going there anyway, could you take this message to my brother...?
I don't think you need to change "other" country. In modern lingo, "other" conveys not just separateness, but differentness.
Shakespeare's term, of course, was "that undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveler returns." But it isn't really an undiscovered country if you believe that people you know and love are there, have already "discovered" it, have planted the Earthling Flag in the soil, and are ready to give you the tour when you arrive.
I infinitely like "far country" pulled from the scriptures. In this vein, I would like to cite Hebrews 11, aptly on faith. In verses 13-16 concerning the family of Abraham's search for the promised land: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a better country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Karen, I loved your comments and there are two really good ideas there, "a county afar off" and "a better country". I like those a lot.
Marie, hahaha, I loved the no qualms way of rushing to the bedside to send messages.
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