Read a Poem
Ubi Sunt
by Marcus Bales
Ubi sunt the Romans used to write
Whenever it came near the time of year
For bare ruined choirs and dying light
Shadowed across the chilly lack of cheer.
I guess it isn’t much above the odds:
As dark approaches people check their bets,
And even grope a little after gods,
As surely as the daylight time sun sets.
There are a few I wonder where they are –
Not gods but people – when something seen or said
Has cracked a shadowed memory door ajar --
As you smile now, or maybe nod your head,
Because you've just remembered one or two
Whose lives have lapsed to distant silhouettes
Who once were close as anyone to you,
As surely as the daylight time sun sets.
Where are they now? It's been that long? And why
Did such a close connection fray away?
But we lead busy lives, and with a sigh
For lang syne not unshadowed by dismay,
Turn back to those who love us here and now,
And whom we love, in spite of our regrets
For absent others time does not allow
As surely as the daylight time sun sets.
L'envoi
You!
Hypocrite semblable! Spare
Me all your can't recalls and I forgets.
We each remember all that we can bear
As surely as the daylight time sun sets.
“Ubi Sunt” by Marcus Bales. 51 Poems. Lawrence Block Productions, 2015. Used by permission of the author.
Not much is known about Marcus Bales except he lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and his work has not appeared in
The New Yorker or
Poetry Magazine. He posts new poems regularly at Occasional Poems:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/193365194146577/ . His most recent book, 51 Poems, published by Lawrence Block Productions, is available at
http://tinyurl.com/jo8ek3r.
Write a poem
Write a poem on a lesser known birthday, such as Hogmanay or Burns Night (Scotland), St. Agnes Day (or any Saint's day), La Tomatino (Spain: a tomato-throwing festival), Boun Ma Kha Bu Saar (Laos), or another you know.