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Cast me unto the flames

Epitaph to self ~ republished from 2025

By Raymond G TaylorPublished 18 days ago • Updated 18 days ago • 1 min read
Beckenham Crematorium. Photo: Dr Neil Clifton

Cast me unto the flames

What do I care

I won't be there

~ O ~ o ~

Say whatever you like

Anything you feel

Just keep it real

~ O ~ o ~

Remember my failings

Not just good deeds

But don't dwell on these

~ O ~ o ~

I was never an angel

Nor devil to fear

I was just here

~ O ~ o ~

My ending has come now

Just let me go

The person you know

~ O ~ o ~

Return my substance to the winds

To the waters below

Molecular flow

~ O ~ o ~

Draw over the sheet

No time to regret

Soon to forget

~ O ~ o ~

What will be left

Loved ones bereft

Soon to move on

~ O ~ o ~

Mere shadows remain

Glimmers of self

Vanity's proof

~ O ~ o ~

Endings are just that

Final farewell

No story to tell

~ O ~ o ~

Let the candle burn

To its natural end

Rejoice in the light

That remains

~ O ~ o ~


~ O ~ o ~


Thanks for reading

This poem may be interpreted in different ways. Such is the nature of poetry and I would prefer not to comment on the validity of any particular way of understanding or interpretation these words.

Ray

sad poetry

About the Creator

Raymond G Taylor

Author based in Margate on the English Kent coast, having moved from London. Known for his short stories and flash fiction, as well as poetry and non-fiction writing on subjects such as art, science, technology and the human condition

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    Written by Raymond G Taylor