My doorway.
My Ghost, No Longer at This Address
Upon my untimely death,
a chaotic redundancy
as death is untimely
except suicide,
which I don’t currently abide,
but that’s another vibe…
I request my epitaph be
“Life was often confusing,
difficult, and demoralizing,
but I laughed a lot,
so maybe it wasn’t all bad.”
Verbose, yes; feel free
to edit before placing
on headstone, or urn.
I have no preference
on my corpse’s disposal.
If I’m right, it is
only an empty shell anyway,
as sturdy abandoned houses
that once hosted countless
Christmas dinners
are no longer homes.
The phenomenon
or mechanism of me
is long gone from here.
** *
Written for imaginary garden with real toads FASHION ME YOUR WORDS ~ Lets build houses. Also shared at Poets United’s Poetry Pantry #377.
As we’re close to Halloween – widely regarded as the point where the threshold between the living and the dead is at its weakest – I found myself thinking less of home building, and more of ghosts, including my own, leaving their bodies (their homes for the duration of their lives) for the first time.
Hephaestus’ Waste & Cosmic Rubble 
Indeed, a house is not a home when left, like the body without a soul, love that thought.
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Thank you. 🙂
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Your verbose epitaph sums it all up. Your tone seems to written as if posthumously, which is an interesting enquiry cause certainly we are all going to die one day
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Well expressed I agree it is an empty shell and your spirit, you are long gone.
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Laughed a lot, so maybe it wasn’t all bad… think I’ll borrow that epitaph…
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Glad you liked it. Thanks. 🙂
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Awww….Love the epitaph 🙂
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Thanks. 🙂
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The epitaph touched my heart… such a poignant write!💞
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Glad you enjoyed it!
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I love seeing the soul as phenomenon or mechanism, Barry. Perfect!
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Strange isn’t it? To be intimately familiar with that which we struggle to define? Thanks for the comment. 🙂
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A very cool response to the prompt….our souls, upon death, vacating our body houses. Loved it.
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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Hi Barry, I enjoyed this interesting take on life and death. Thanks for sharing it.
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Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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Great comparison of the body after death to the house now empty. I agree heartily with the epitaph. Since I’ve always loved new adventures, I’ve requested my epitaph be “What’s next?”
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What’s next? I like that one! So optimistic!
Thanks for reading me.
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Your poem is so deep and for me so true….our bodies no longer a home for our souls when we die….empty even though we go back to graves over and over to try and connect with that spirit…..really wonderful poem!
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I don’t even remember where my parents are buried. My grandma told me that if I was looking for my mom at the graveyard, I won’t find her there… that resonated with me. Now I see her in many things.
Thanks for reading me. Glad you enjoyed it.:)
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Such an unusual take on the prompt
But I see your point
Really well done
namaste
JzB
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We are built for temporary. Love your epitaph!
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Thank you, and I agree. 🙂
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Excellent response to this prompt, Barry! By the way, I never knew you were responsible for the death of the Wicked Witch of The West.
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How dare You! You just assumed that any old house parked on top of a witch to be a witch-murderer. That’s profiling, and profiling is WRONG!
Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed it. 😉
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I’m smiling!
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Well amen to that! I enjoyed this !!
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A life laughing is important. It is good to be able to see the ridiculous side of everything. Die laughing eh!
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Sometimes gallows humor is the only true humor. Thanks for reading me. 🙂
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