Photo © Enisa
What can flowers do to mask the scent of loss
Or horns to cover up the wailing cries
Parade triumphant — cheering, heedless crowds
What know they of this man who saved their lives
New ballads will arise for his last win
To laud the conquering hero at his best
But who among them held him while he slept
How many felt his skin against their breast
To mock the grayest day when he set out
The sun shines bright upon his funeral pyre
The banners dancing gleeful in the wind
Beckon me to join him on the fire
I alone hold vigil ’til the morn
To smoldering coals that harbor no sweet lies
For flowers cannot mask such noisome loss
And horns will never blunt my wailing cries
Word count: 126. Written for this week’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. Big thanks to Priceless Joy for hosting! Click on the link to read the other stories inspired by this photo, or to write your own.
I didn’t intend to write a poem this time, but you now how it is: poetry happens.
I apologize for how long it’s been since I’ve posted. I’ve been so busy with social stuff and work stuff that I haven’t had any time to write, or do much else either. Then I took a weekend off to attend a fun new (to me) science fiction and fantasy conference, FOGcon, in northern California. If any of you are near there, I’d be happy to tell you all about it!
Tales from Eneana 
Beautiful poem, Joy. 🙂
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Thank you Sammi!
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Wonderful poem Joy.
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Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
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Great poem Joy. Am I right in thinking she threw herself on the funeral pyre as well although I guess she didn’t as she held vigil til dawn.
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No, she holds the vigil, although she is sorely tempted to join him in the fire. Thanks for reading!
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This poem reads like a song! Very nice!
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Thanks PJ! I had originally thought of writing it as prose, but it kept insisting on coming out as a poem instead.
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I thought it was lovely! And it is nice to have you back!
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That poem had such an epic feel to it. Lovely.
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I’m glad to hear it came across that way, thank you for the comment!
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A lovely memorial ode.
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Glad you liked it, Iain, thanks for reading!
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That was so . . . moving.
Though, typical of me, my initial response was, ‘But the flowers are to mask the smell of decay’.
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Good! The original line was “What can flowers do to mask the scent of death,” but I figured the scent of decay/death would already be evoked, so I took it a step further to add the “loss” — more layers in the same number of words. I hope! Thanks for commenting!
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It works so much better for being ‘loss’.
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Thanks, I’m glad you think so!
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This reminds me so much of the now defunct tradition of ‘Sati’. Beautiful and vivid.
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Yes, I was inspired by that. I thought that even in a world where that isn’t the norm, if you have a funeral pyre, the person left behind would be so grieved as to be tempted. (Although I understand that this was not always a voluntary act, in Sati.) Thanks for the comment!
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Always welcome. 🙂
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Joy, what a nice rhythm .
I totally agree with “ poetry just happens”. Sometimes you feel you cannot write the words fast enough;)
Peace
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Thank you! Yes, in this case the words kept coming out rhyming and rhythmic. I figured that if I *didn’t* make it look like a poem, it would be weird. 😉
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