At The Spreading of Your Ashes | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Poetry
  3. Free Verse
  4. At The Spreading of Your Ashes

At The Spreading of Your Ashes

January 18, 2011
By Dackary SILVER, Jacksonville, Florida
More by this author
Dackary SILVER, Jacksonville, Florida
5 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." - Former president John F. Kennedy

View profile

At the spreading of your ashes—
As two of your sons removed a bag from a small box,
I shuddered.
My papaw in a bag, discarded like waste.
We all hung our heads low, crying toward
the water.
You loved the way the river looked,
one minute smooth like glass,
the next, rough and unpredictable.
You worked your whole life on that boat
with calloused hands and parched skin raw from rope
burns and heat.
But when it came time to bid the final farewell,
it was as though someone had released a bag of winds.
I had to let you go.
I watched you poured from the bag—
the ashes scattering in mid-air,
painting the surface of the rolling waves,
and melting into the river.

© Xiao H., Naperville, IL

The author's comments:
This piece was inspired by the death of my grandfather--better known as papaw. He was the best!
Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Poetry
Doll House Living
By sgrace SILVER
West Chester, Pennsylvania
sgrace SILVER, West Chester, Pennsylvania
5 articles 22 photos 18 comments
View profile
Poetry
Death After Life
By sHaDoWnInJa PLATINUM
West Jordan, Utah
sHaDoWnInJa PLATINUM, West Jordan, Utah
31 articles 0 photos 3 comments
View profile
Poetry
To a Brother Growing Up
By imperfection GOLD
Gilroy, California
imperfection GOLD, Gilroy, California
17 articles 9 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Dream as though you&#039;ll live forever, live as though you&#039;ll die today.&quot;<br /> ~James Dean (1931-1955), American Motion Picture Actor, symbol of rebellion

View profile
Poetry
Motley Crue: I really hear you
By Arbys GOLD
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Arbys GOLD, Dobbs Ferry, New York
15 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.&quot;Edgar Allan Poe<br /> &quot;A dream doesn&#039;t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. ~Colin Powell&quot; ~ Colin Powell<br /> &quot;Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom <br /> &quot;A poem is never finished, only abandoned.&quot;-Paul Valery

View profile
Poetry
Perfectly
By Christina Rudolph BRONZE
Lilburn, Georgia
Christina Rudolph BRONZE, Lilburn, Georgia
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments
View profile
Poetry
The Backyard
By CarlyG GOLD
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
CarlyG GOLD, Emmaus, Pennsylvania
10 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.&quot; H. Jackson Brown Jr.

View profile

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.