THE LAND OF THE LIVING

by Larry Kilham

What could he tell me of life?

sitting in the creaking rocker

smiling through a wrinkled face.     

Do not wander as a rootless tree he said -

plant a tree, have a child, write a book

create and enjoy and avoid the land of the dead.

Life is about leaving something behind.    

It is culture that remains and  

it reveals the creations of the mind.

He closed his eyes and said

The earth is all that lasts

and lost are the dead.