hospice bed
each breath
a lifetime
Published by
Mark E. Brager
Mark E. Brager lives with his wife and son in Columbia, MD, just outside of Washington, DC, where he works as a public affairs executive. His poems have appeared in haijinx, Prune Juice, Haiku Pix Review, The Heron's Nest, Notes from the Gean, and DailyHaiku.
View all posts by Mark E. Brager
A haiku that uses foreshortening to dramatic effect to focus on the nervous tension each long drawn breath arouses in the silent, empathetic visitor.
Just love this one.
Thank you very much…glad you enjoyed it…
Mark E. Brager is one of my favourite living poets. The subjects of his haiku are usually profound explorations of human psychology, but always masterfully understated and powerful. Here is another one with an impact which lingers; human life in its most poignantly and painfully raw reality. In the scheme of the cosmos, every life can be thought of as a mere breath. Within the finite count of our breaths, though, every lifetime seeks to find its meaning. Yet still how often we put off what matters – spiritual growth. Working with the dying, and those who love and visit them, I have regularly seen the spiritual growth that takes place for both, when they are unavoidably confronted by the imminent reality of death. Few things are as frankly confronting as those words "hospice bed". But Mark's poem helps us breathe and share in the life-affirming human journey. There is hope and meaning and indeed the chance to justify a lifetime in every breath right until the very last.
Powerful powerful message, subtly supported by the respiratory cadence of the 3 lines.
Literally, an awesome haiku. Thank you Mark for sharing this one.
Strider
Thank you very much. I appreciate the support (especially at times like these when my output is rather meager) and am honored you think so highly of my work. If we are not already Facebook friends, please message me…
Wow!Can’t believe how beautiful this knock out of a haiku is. I read this st work, and I was knocked out.
Thank you very much Dawn!
Thank you Garry…
I enjoyed this very much…
in a lifetime another hue of the oriole
I have been at a similar bedside and lots of others have too, so this haiku will hit a lot of people hard, Mark. The abruptness of the lines echo those breaths. Masterful.
marion