'Words Unspoken' - A Response to 'Letters Unsent' [Strong language]

[I wrote this poem in response to a poem of my uncle's that was read at his funeral. Unfortunately I don't have access to it, so can't post it as context here. But a few lines of his went something like: "Not that I resent death, but lament the head-long rush through life."]

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How long do you need to say goodbye?

As long as I bloody well like.

Grasping at shifting sand

As the entire ground gives way beneath me,

I will claw and clench at the time already no longer mine

For one last snatch of your laugh,

One last enchanting story,

One last...anything.

And now those words dribbled out by others –

The same platitudes I have ignorantly spoken before –

Lie like pieces of your broken china

Shattered at my feet:

“At least he lived a good long life.”

Fuck that.

Fuck whoever thought that was an acceptable excuse for theft.

Last I checked, the better something is

And the longer you’ve had it,

The more you rage and spit when someone takes it from you.

I don’t know.

Maybe you’re the better man for not resenting death.

I never did either.

Until today.

But today, I stand with a horde, the beginnings of an army,

Tear tracks turning to lava flows

As I glare my hatred at the little thief

Across this damn expanse,

And I scream a promise at him.

“I’m coming for you, little thief,

And when I catch you,

There will be hell to pay.”

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