Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A SELF-SERVER, by CALE YOUNG RICE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A SELF-SERVER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Such was his greed of life and dread of the voidness of the tomb
Last Line: And has taken with him only the pale posthumous tick of time.
Subject(s): Coffins; Faces; Life; Soul


Such was his greed of life and dread of the voidness of the tomb,
That he bade us bury a clock with him in the grave's gloom;
A clock that would run a year and a day, after his heart stopped.
Open the coffin. . . . Look. He listens to it, with lids dropped.

Look at his brow. It is so still he will be sure to hear
As he turns to dust the strange tick of an unallotted year.
He ever wanted more than his share of everything, and so
Has taken a year of time with him, after his time to go.

Look at his face, so callous and contemptuous of worth,
So earthy that it is strange he dreaded at last the still earth.
Forgetful of all soul-things he has gone to the soul's clime,
And has taken with him only the pale posthumous tick of time.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net