When I am no longer Available for speaking The myth of myself, Let tall men of small girth Step forth in the service To speak words of mine: Book, poem, and paper, Word of mouth not excluded: Demonstrating my fluency In the days of my living, In the hours of my loving: How my voice outran The paging of wind, The summons of sun, Raged on with the river, Tireless in expenditure, Heedless in economy, Unknown to reduction, Despising frugality Of syllables only, Not to be wanting In cup or cupboard: In short, at ease With easy redundance, Those lovely refrains Of poems and litanies, Meting out metaphor Like honey on bread From the hand of a mother, A sister, or cousin, Or laudable companion Of other persuasion, But never to lend A note of soprano To the muffle of drum, Or the gruffness of trombone, Or the sob of cello: Part and counter-Part of memoriam In referent male Militia of death. This is my wish, Last will, and testament: When I am no longer Available for speaking The sum of myself, My meaning made clear, Let the voices of strong Men lowly declare In basses and tenors My reason for being In words of their choosing And perhaps a line Or two from verses Saying how good it was To have been a man. http://www.wlu.edu/~shenano | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VICARIOUS ATONEMENT by RICHARD ALDINGTON CONTRA MORTEM: THE BEING AS VISION by HAYDEN CARRUTH MY FATHER'S FACE by HAYDEN CARRUTH THEN AND NOW by CECIL DAY LEWIS NEW YEAR'S EVE by DAVID IGNATOW ON A PALMETTO by SIDNEY LANIER IN WALKED BUD WITH A PALETTE by CLARENCE MAJOR |