A poem for you
Jonah
in memoriam J.B.
It is large, they say, this life,
and however could a dove alight
on the barnacle-armored hull of it
and not fear his own consumption?
You live on through the love
you left behind, in the eyes
of those who speak of you
at the distant whaling outposts.
Although we never met, your
story is all too understandable,
since each of us are stowaways, deep
in the hold, tossed on a storm.
How could you not have wanted more?
The rafters creaking overhead,
only a swinging lamp to guide you.
You went out on deck alone.
And when the world found you,
and rammed against your hull,
they say you looked it in the eye
before it swallowed you whole.
written by an anonymous neighbor of Jonah’s family
September 18, 2010 at 9:43 pm
[...] read a poem dedicated to the memory of two friends’ departed son, and somehow managed to collect myself to carry on after seeing the look in their eyes. It was a [...]
September 19, 2010 at 1:08 am
Thank you Robert
This poem means so much to me, anyone that really knew Jonah can relate. This was him….. I wish you got to meet him
His big sister, Emily
October 7, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Emily, I’m so sorry for your loss. I would have liked to meet Jonah. He touched so many people’s lives.
There is now a video available of me reading the poem a couple of weeks ago at the Beatrice Wood Center here in Ojai. Your parents were in the audience.
http://www.robertpeake.com/archives/1882-reading-jonah-video.html