I will not go with the ferryman,
Into the endless night,
Nor touch the dust grey shores,
Where shades linger grieving.
I will not listen to the clinking of silver,
And the whispering of the dead,
Rattling the brown reeds, rustling the fallen leaves.
I will turn my back on the water-dripping oars,
On the oil black river,
The silence and the dull dark sky.
Before my eyes, the horizon glows,
With the promise of the rising sun,
And in the night, the sky glitters,
With the light of a million stars.
I turn my back on death, my face to the light,
And live.
great poem!
Thank you, Amit 🙂
you are most welcome!
I think this is my favourite of all the poems of yours I have read so far. Who pays the ferryman? Not I 🙂
Thank you! If there’s a choice, the Greek notion of death and the afterlife isn’t the one I’d plump for. Sounds absolutely bloody miserable.
I’ve never been convinced I would choose any of the imagined afterlives. But then again being a Buddhist bug would be pretty frustrating too! I’m afraid I feel that I would rather live the life I want to live and then just rot and feed the earth with my decaying corpse – although I am convinced I have a soul I do not feel arrogant enough to think it has any right to carry on sans corps!
I tend to agree with you. The notions about the afterlife seem so complicated. You live, you die, you become compost. Simple.
I agree with you and Osyth. I love the poem, too, and your lyrical refusal to get on the ferry and accept the darkness. It made me think of “Do Not Go Gentle in That Good Night,” only without so much violence. 😉
It’s maybe the same sort of idea, Merril. I’m flattered you thought of making the connection. Hades sounds like such a miserable dump you’d have to be mad to go there willingly 🙂
I agree–wet, dark, and dreary. I bet it smells like old gym clothes and swamp muck.
I never asked myself what it smelled like, but you could be right 🙂
🙂
This poem reminds of the poems I loved to learn by heart when I was at school. I might learn this one to carry around with me for a while. I used to get the ferry from Twickenham to Ham, which was rowed by a ferrymanman, but we had to pay him 😊
You have to pay Charon too. The nerve! Thank you for saying such lovely things about the poem, Kim 🙂
Thank you for reblogging, Kim 🙂
Mythology really digs into the depths of our hopes and fears. Just the title is very evocative. We can’t refuse death, but we can refuse to buy into the cultural presentation. (K)
Exactly! The idea of being dragged into something so unappealing even after death gives me the shivers.
Shades of Dylan Thomas Jane. Beautifully dome and a good choice at the end.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
Thanks David 🙂 I’ll vote for life, in one form or another, over death every time.
Reblogged this on Tricia Drammeh and commented:
Jane Dougherty constantly amazes and inspires me with her talent. If you aren’t following her blog, what are you waiting for?
Sigh. This is wonderful. ❤
Thank you, Theresa! I have the impression many people don’t like the idea of going gently 🙂
I don’t either. It will be kicking and screaming for me. 😀 😀
Beautiful!
Thank you Joleene 🙂