I found these on Parabola magazine, the Life after Death issue.
Both spoke to me deeply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antonius Block: Who are you?
Death: I am Death.
Antonius Block: Have you come for me?
Death: I have long walked by your side.
Antonius Block: So I have noticed.
Death: Are you ready?
Antonius Block: My body is ready, but I am not.
[“The Seventh Seal”, Ingmar Bergman]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I read this poem I felt that the poet had put my feelings regarding my parents’ death into words, caught the essence of their death in my experience.
Life after death
My Mother and Father died some years ago
I loved them very much.
When they died my love for them
did not vanish or fade away.
It stayed just about the same,
only a sadder colour.
And I can feel their love for me,
same as it ever was.
Nowadays, in good times or bad,
I sometimes ask my Mother and Father
to walk beside me
or to sit with me
so we can talk together
or be silent.
They always come to me.
I talk to them and listen to them
and think I hear them talk to me.
It’s very simple –
nothing to do with spiritualism
or religion or mumbo jumbo.
It is imaginary. It is real. It is love.
[Adrian Mitchell, “Death Is Smaller Than I Thought”]
