Endless Life
by Liz Rosenberg
1 Let me lay my hand on the head of the Reaper
2 at the moment of death, when the curtains part
3 for mourners drawn to the feet of the still sleeper.
4 The River Styx tonight lies overlapping Baltimore,
5 a city langorously shining. And the body, worn
6 thin as a shell makes its last journey.
7 We the living feel the wave creep by
8 which carries it off. Then silence drifting,
9 a slow pull of darkness from below;
10 and faith spins out the rescuer's rope
11 from which we learn to hang---
12 till in the end the waters open.
13 Gathered into a knot, and flecked
14 with foam, loom the survivors:
15 the bright souls, immortal lovers.
[from The Fire Music (1986): University of Pittsburgh Press]
Copyright © 1986, Liz Rosenberg.
Reproduced for personal use only: do not circulate.