Saturday, October 22, 2011

Ode to Dying Men



Some of my best friends
Have been dying men

The explorer dying of cancer
Told me tales of sealhide boats
Why you never fix an outboard to them
Of a thousand near-death escapes
On ice pans in white storms
The breathless sight of Northern Lights
Of boundless friendship of the North
And made me proud
Of the homeland I had spent my life
Running from

The grappler diabetic with guts rotting
Told me tales of bloody streets
Showed me his long nihonto scar
Bruised knuckles from GI faces
Friends dead in yakuza wars
The transformation of his scarred land
Shared the strength and peace of budo
And made me proud
Of the second homeland where I spend my life
Creating myself

Some of my best friends
Have been dying men
Have taught me life
In the grip of Death

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