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
I like the idea of speed changing at death. Maybe it even goes faster.
ReplyDeleteThe flicker at the end is something we will only know once... I wonder if we can see it coming.
ReplyDeleteThat 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.
ReplyDeleteI like the last bit too...I think you may be right....XX
ReplyDeleteOf course, we will never know, but in times of shock and pain things slow right down, don't they?
ReplyDeleteI have heard that life flashes before our eyes .. just mere moments before death.. Beautifully penned.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWell 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".
I think flickering to the end is a good thing ---- much better than the alternative.
ReplyDeleteThat's an amazing poem Glenn. Like the way you leads us along and then 'boom' hit us with a stunning close. Great last stanza.
ReplyDeleteThe 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 ~
ReplyDeleteThanks Glenn for being part of our journey. Appreciate your steadfast support through the years.
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.
ReplyDeleteI love your use of flicker - in each stanza so creatively.
ReplyDeleteLove 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?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure my whole life's passed before my eyes more than once. An interesting thought that is slows down at the end.
ReplyDeleteWow! I really like this. It is thought-provoking and creative while being concise. The quote at the top is great, too.
ReplyDeleteThe ending is thought provoking. I wonder what images will flicker through the mind in the end before the darkness settles in.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts on things that flicker.
ReplyDeleteI like this contrast of fast and slow flickering of life.
ReplyDeleteAh, I love the imagery you left us at the end... life's flicker fading in to the dark.
ReplyDeleteAwesome quadrille, Glenn. You paint death more gentle than frightful...hopefully, so.
ReplyDeleteWhen 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!
ReplyDeleteOh 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.
ReplyDeleteTrue it is, Glenn.
ReplyDeleteI touched on this myself today..in mind, a friend in Hospice.
Glenn Glenn..
ReplyDeleteas 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..:)
I think you might be right Glenn - sometimes the candle seems to burn too slow...
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Love that last stanza especially. Powerful!
ReplyDeleteThis 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.
ReplyDeleteI hope the flickering is slow. I want to savor the memories. Good write!
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog, i always enjoy & read the post you are sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank for your very good article...!
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