Ave Atque Vale

[dedalus]

(Ave Atque Vale – Hail and Farewell - is the title of a poem by Gaius Valerius Catullus, c. 84-54 BC, and was written upon visiting the grave of his brother, who had been slain in war. This version is a reference to more recent times.)

 

No blinding light of tropical day

nor secrecy of northern night

can mask this desolation:

 

but ideas are not responsible

for the lives of those who hold them.

 

Death was kind to you:

a polite gathering of mourners,

myself among them.

 

Flotsam, jetsam,

such ribald, archaic terms.

 

The garbled service

was dismal. Predictably so.

I could hear your dry chuckle.

 

I shall attend your funeral,

or you shall attend mine.

 

I remember you saying that,

as if laying down two cards

and picking up two more.

 

People live

as long as their friends live

and remember.

[dcmarti1]

a polite gathering of mourners

 

That line alone could be the title of another poem! The last 2 stanzas are, despite appearances, NOT coldly unemotional but tender. If meant to be so, a nice tribute.

[tonyv]

Sparse, elegiac. Very much enjoyed, especially the lovely first verse.

 

Tony