Poetry by León Felipe: Dialogue Between the Poet and Death (Diálogo entre el poeta y la muerte)

Thanatos – daemon personification of death in
Greek Mythology. Sculptured marble column
drum from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos.

Here’s another León Felipe poem from his collection Ganarás La Luz. Look out for notes of John Donne’s “Death be not proud”.

DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE POET AND DEATH

Poet- Oh, death! I know you’re already there. Please have some patience.

Death- It’s three o’clock. Shall we leave when the stars fade, the roosters crow, the first light sounds its trumpet from the mountain range and the sun opens a crimson crack between heaven and earth?

Poet- Not when you say so, nor when I want to.

I’ve come to write my testimony. When I have written my last blasphemy my pen will fall, my inkwell will break without being touched, causing ink will pour and, without you pushing it,

The door will open wide.

Then we will leave. Meanwhile…

hang your scythe with my walking stick on the coat rack

in the aisle and sit down… sit down and wait!

Reading W.B. Yeats's "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" as a Meditation on Life

On Visiting Dove Cottage, William Wordsworth's Home, to Better Enjoy His Poetry

'Feast on your life': Tom Hiddleston on Derek Walcott's "Love After Love" for accepting ourselves

Exploring the world with Tennyson to overcome anxiety: "for my purpose holds to sail beyond the suns...

Navigating a Confusing World with Whitman's "Of the Terrible Doubt of Appearances"

On going about your own life when a loved one is suffering: W. H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts”

Nick Cave's chosen "sad poem of loss": "The Widower in the Country" by Les Murray

Poetry for Letting Go: In Blackwater Woods by Mary Oliver