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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
WHEN I AM DEAD, by PAUL ELDRIDGE First Line: I'll have no compromise Last Line: Their paradise. ... Subject(s): Angels; Death; Heaven; Dead, The; Paradise | |||
I'll have no compromise, No bargain-driving With the gods. And so, When I am dead, Let them not offer me With oriental hospitality Their Paradise. Let not their angels In cynical humility Wash my feet with myrrh, Anoint my head With perfumed oils, And flap their wings Like silver castanets In mocking merriment. I'll have no dealings With the gods I've known them too long, And learned the cunning fashion Of their arts. And so, When I am dead, Let vulgar Earth Absorb me with her kiss, And clasp me tightly With her rough unclean arms Against her breast. And when she wearies Of my flesh and bones, Let her crush me in her palms, And render me A blade of grass, To dance a summer's day And throw kisses To the stars. Alas, the gods are greedy, And seek their profit, They'll never give me peace, When I am dead They'll offer me Most graciously, Their Paradise. ... | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE END OF LIFE by PHILIP JAMES BAILEY SEVEN TWILIGHTS: 6 by CONRAD AIKEN THE BOOK OF THE DEAD MAN (#19): 2. MORE ABOUT THE DEAD MAN AND WINTER by MARVIN BELL THE WORLDS IN THIS WORLD by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR A SKELETON FOR MR. PAUL IN PARADISE; AFTER ALLAN GUISINGER by NORMAN DUBIE BEAUTY & RESTRAINT by DANIEL HALPERN HOW IT WILL HAPPEN, WHEN by DORIANNE LAUX |
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