Monday, July 17, 2017

Flicker Fun


image from youtube.com


Flicker Fun

All writing is about the same thing--dying; about
the brief flicker of time we have here.”
--Mordecai Richler.

Flickering
indicates motion
more than life.

Movies
flicker fast
fast enough
to appear
as clear images.

Insects
& bird’s wings
flicker
so rapidly
they hum.

I imagine that
at the point
of death,
reality flickers
ever so slowly
before
it finally

fades to black.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub Q44

29 comments:

Frank Hubeny said...

I like the idea of speed changing at death. Maybe it even goes faster.

brudberg said...

The flicker at the end is something we will only know once... I wonder if we can see it coming.

Victoria said...

That ending stanza is so powerful, Glenn. Life is so full of mystery and all we can do is move forward a step at a time, hoping we are okay and forgiving ourselves when we screw up.

Alison H said...

I like the last bit too...I think you may be right....XX

sarah said...

Of course, we will never know, but in times of shock and pain things slow right down, don't they?

Sanaa Rizvi said...

I have heard that life flashes before our eyes .. just mere moments before death.. Beautifully penned.

indybev said...


Well now, you've given us all something to think about. Don't some people who have had near death experiences say their life passed before them in review? In that event, it must flicker quickly or it would take us a long time to "pass over".

Unknown said...

I think flickering to the end is a good thing ---- much better than the alternative.

Anonymous said...

That's an amazing poem Glenn. Like the way you leads us along and then 'boom' hit us with a stunning close. Great last stanza.

Grace said...

The contrast of time, when death is dear, can be slow and agonizing ~ For some, specially the unexpected time, it can be fast, fading quickly to black ~

Thanks Glenn for being part of our journey. Appreciate your steadfast support through the years.

Arcadia Maria said...

I really like your use of the word flicker to describe the contrasts of time either from movies, the movement of animals or the passing of life. Enjoyable read.

Anonymous said...

I love your use of flicker - in each stanza so creatively.

Gayle Walters Rose said...

Love your descriptions of flickering, Glenn. Now you've made me wonder if as we "fade to black" here do we awaken to light somewhere else?

Waltermarks said...

I'm sure my whole life's passed before my eyes more than once. An interesting thought that is slows down at the end.

Jenna said...

Wow! I really like this. It is thought-provoking and creative while being concise. The quote at the top is great, too.

Truedessa said...

The ending is thought provoking. I wonder what images will flicker through the mind in the end before the darkness settles in.

AnotherFearlessYear.net said...

Interesting thoughts on things that flicker.

Sumana Roy said...

I like this contrast of fast and slow flickering of life.

Maria said...

Ah, I love the imagery you left us at the end... life's flicker fading in to the dark.

lynn__ said...

Awesome quadrille, Glenn. You paint death more gentle than frightful...hopefully, so.

Kim M. Russell said...

When I saw the prompt was flicker, I though to myself - now there's a movie word for Glenn. And then you turned it into something else!

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Oh Glenn....huge sigh just escaped my lips at the end of your post. Having a friend who lives/ed far away, who I sent an email with a funny photo of me in it every Monday for 2+ years as she battled ovarian cancer -- and feeling from afar as her life flickered out and imaging her seeing her children who she desperately wanted to live for -- you have hit a chord here my poetic friend. Wiping my eyes - I need to step away before I can continue reading this morning. Beautiful words, Glenn.

Kathy Reed said...

True it is, Glenn.
I touched on this myself today..in mind, a friend in Hospice.

Katie Mia Frederick said...

Glenn Glenn..
as you KNoW
i've drifted
away from
dVerse and
am swept into
an Ocean of Poetic
Words mostly elsewhere
but i must give words of thanks
here as i complete a Longest Long
Form Poem on Record at 1.81 Million
Words in 13.6 Months exceeding
the Mahābhārata effort in
India from Thousands
of Years
ago
and
Centuries
of combined
Human Effort
And as Flicker of
Muse goes you were
an incredible EnCourAginG
Force at dVerse for the years
i spent heAR you could See more
of what i was doing as most for sure
then
mY FriEnd
And alWays
Nice to
See
you StiLL
as Facebook
FriEnd aS every
Word of Encouragement
iS A Treasured Gift iN LiFE
And YoU BRinG mUch of thaT
to me so i say thank you aGaiN..:)

hyperCRYPTICal said...

I think you might be right Glenn - sometimes the candle seems to burn too slow...
Anna :o]

colorfulpen said...

Love that last stanza especially. Powerful!

Anonymous said...

This is superb Glenn. The Tibetans seem to know a thing or two about the moment of dying.I'm pretty sure time will be perceived differently at that moment.

Sarah Russell said...

I hope the flickering is slow. I want to savor the memories. Good write!

Sok Sareth said...

Awesome blog, i always enjoy & read the post you are sharing!
Thank for your very good article...!

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