Years mutate virus-like
in their determination
and, before we know it,
only our last conversation
remains, hanging in the air
like a note from a bass guitar
that we know must end.
We each had our perspectives,
memories and photographs
the only proof of friendship,
all that’s left of us, my friend.
That’s why I write these lines,
a tattooed outpouring of ink
and love in difficult times,
a quiet strumming of thoughts,
a last conversation – of sorts.
Kim M. Russell, 16th April 2020
My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads NaPoWriMo Day 16 Play it Again in April 2020: In the Remains
Outlawyer’s prompt from Saturday, April 16th, 2016 was entitled ‘In The Remains of This Month (April!)’. It started with the image of a fragment of a Buddhist sculpture and reference to a poem by Rilke, whose poetry I have loved since I was at school, so I was immediately drawn to the challenge, having missed it the first time around. The challenge is to write something that stems from the word remains.
In the eighties and early nineties, my husband was in a band called April 16th. His friend, the bassist, recently died of the corona virus and, ironically, his funeral is today. I wrote this poem for friends we’ve loved and lost.
I’m merging this prompt with Kerry’s Skylover Wordlist, sourced from Dylan Thomas’s poetry collection Deaths and Entrances, from which the sixteenth word is ‘conversation’.
writing in north norfolk 
The notion of a final conversation, a way to say goodbye, is very close to all our hearts at present. Your poem speaks for so many, Kim. Thank you for sharing and caring for the collective, in your own time of mourning.
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Thank you, Kerry.
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“a tattooed outpouring of ink,”….The imagery in this one is so compelling, so strong in its tone and message! 💝💝
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Thank you, Sanaa!😊
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This is an elegant elegy, sad and true to both friendship and loss.
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Thank you, Kerfe.
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Yes, this is elegant and poignant. So sorry for lost friends🙏
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Thank you.
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Yes, we leave these poems behind hoping people will follow the crumbs, one day up ahead, and see the journey we have made. I love your poem.
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Thanks so much, Sherry!
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I love the comparison to the last note hanging from a bass guitar. I think this idea of remembering last conversations, be they good or bad ones, is coming to mind a lot more these days when life seems so fragile for so many. And Zoom is suddenly on the scene and people are calling each other after not having spoken for some time….”checking up”. I enjoyed this write very much.
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Thank you, Lill. I’ll post on OLN in the morning. I had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon and have been given new medication for the shingles, which got worse last night. Early to bed for me.
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So sorry for your loss..and thank you for sharing such a thoughtful expression of all the things we lose in the passing of time, friends, and loved one.
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Thank you, Susie.
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Beautifully said, Kim. I too have reached an age when many old friends are leaving.
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Thank you, Rosemary.
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