Z.B.McClure - Opening Acts

Life That's lived

 by Z.B.McClure

The  life that's lived
is like a mine
whose hallowed depths
with gold are lined;
not seen- while we're alive-
only by those
we've left behind.
~
Oh storied lives!
It's when it's darkest
that you shine!
Like buried treasure
they refine
while 'round my slumbered eyes
they gather, to
remember mine.
A life that's lived.

I wrote this poem while thinking about funerals I have been to.
Many have been the times when I've learned something about the deceased person, that I wish I would have known while they were alive. Isn't it too bad that we really don't know those we think we are so close to during life?  At the funeral, we hear their life stories...the riches of a lifetime, accumulated over the years and out of sight- suddenly surface to be shared while the deceased ones body slumbers.

In this poem, I contemplate my own funeral and imagine people gathered around my coffin, telling the stories of my life.
We have this much in common: everyone of us could write a book about our life.
God has blessed us all with a multitude of experiences that others would probably be able to refine and benefit from.
When it's "darkest", after the final spadeful of earth is shoveled over our plot...those stories will shine on in the memories of those we leave behind, and perhaps be passed on for generation!

~Zach B. McClure