Epitaph
Kim Goldberg
for Philip Abraham Goldberg (1922-2000)
You showed me how to preserve my
Self in the face of life-long assaults
on the non-conforming Self
You showed me by your example
by your uncrushable laugh
your belief in a reality the herd
could never grasp
You showed me this could be done—
the container could, in fact, be sealed
that when everything has been pummelled
drugged, shunned, disputed
and electrocuted from the blood
and bone and brain, there remains
a tiny seed that no one else can reach
And like a Redwood seed, no bigger
than a tomato pip, yet weighing
four thousand tons, so does your tiny seed
hold all—for what was taken
never mattered in the first place.
All of this you have passed to me
by your sheer existence—bent, gutted
but never truly emptied
With this gift, this magic
I will now live free for both of us
I will evade their traps and tortures
and confinements for both of us
My heart will beat
for both of us
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About Kim Goldberg
Kim Goldberg is a poet, journalist and the author of 8 books of poetry and nonfiction. Latest titles: DEVOLUTION (poems of ecopocalypse), UNDETECTABLE (her Hep C journey in haibun), RED ZONE (poems of homelessness) and RIDE BACKWARDS ON DRAGON: a poet's journey through Liuhebafa. She lives in Nanaimo, BC. Contact: goldberg@ncf.ca
So beautiful Kim… thank-you for sharing. Tara
Thanks Tara. I wrote this seven years ago, and this is the first time I have shared it.
It brought tears….
Wow! Wonderful to hear. I think the reason I have hesitated to share it all these years is because I thought it wouldn’t resonate with anyone else, being so personal. So thanks! 🙂
Kim, this is beautiful and powerful and resonant. How lucky you both were to have each other.
Thanks so much, Laura! 🙂
Very moving as my father is now unable to walk and declining in health. The words you wrote could have easily have been from me to my dad. May I share this with him ? Blessed we are.
Yes, absolutely share it with your Dad. Thanks for your kind words. 🙂