CREMATION (To G. S.)
Reading edition
I
Just a packet of letters tied with a bit of blue, Just a packet of letters that once were sent by you To one who proved unworthy Of the Love inscribed within. The tiny packet of letters, a witness of my sin.
II
Just a packet of letters, but they are not mine own. I dare not claim one thought in them Not even as a loan, For to the one you thought I was In all sincerity You bared the secrets of your soul. Now I send them back to thee.
III
Just a packet of letters A monument of love. You lie within the fireplace, In smoke you’ll rise above The sordidness of all deceit, The grime of earthly thought, Yet, in this flash of living fire, The flame of love is caught.
IV
Just a packet of letters a while ago you were, Now in vaprous symphony of gray I send you back to her, For the spirit of true love that’s penned, Must rise to meet her soul In pearly glory ’round her head. Love’s halo—is its goal.
To rake over the dead ashes of a burnt out love one must use the pen point of poetry.