Photo of his beloved Bandingo Farm by Robert Butkereit
September 2, 2012
In stillness now,
the beloved farm manifests the
lovely seasons of observation
and reverence that he
Soft summer is still soft,
but lonely for the reflections
written and photographed
that only he
The bear snores in the woods,
blossoms are full and lazy, birds
ready for migration in autumn,
and he
will be remembered here.
~~~
My post written in exactly 55 words for Flash Fiction 55, now hosted by the lovelies over at imaginary garden with read toads.
Sorrowfully, this poem is not fiction and is written to honor a friend and fellow blogger who died suddenly this week, alone, on his farm in a remote part of New York.
Known as Citizen of Earth and also as Bobbb, Robert Butkereit authored one of the best blogs out there and I can hardly believe how few followers he had. Robert and I became friends via our blogs, a friendship that extended to Facebook, which is where I learned of his death. Please do yourself a favor and visit his blog, Zenspace to read some, or many, of his deep posts.
I have chosen to reprint his post from February 10, 2014. The photo and writing are pure Citizen of Earth.
RIP, dear friend.
In Passing
This long road I never expected to see
Past the vanishing point milestone markers melt slowly
A billion billion drops of rain never counted and the wind
Working overtime to the same conclusion
The silent stars stand witness
They alone hold the key
For the road begins and ends by their good grace
Time and space
And the secrets they share
Be they particle
Or wave
11 comments:
I'm so sorry to hear of your friend's passing. That's one of the bad things about on line friendships; we are the last to know, sometimes, what ever happened to someone we like.
FF55 goes up at noon today at Toads. The host is Flub-Possum, or something like that. I forget. :-P
Hi Melladee,
I'm Bob's oldest daughter, Marla. This is a beautiful blog post. We are planning on printing this entire post and displaying it tomorrow during the service we are having for my Father. You actually used one of the pictures we put in the slide show. Dad loved the stars.
Thank you for being a good friend to my Dad.
Dear Marla ~ Oh my goodness, what an honor that you will share this at your dad's service. I am so touched, as I was so touched by Bob's friendship. I learned so much from him about nature and about mindfulness. He was a great soul on earth, now dancing with the stars. I am so sorry for your loss and will be with you, your family, and close friends in the days ahead. ♥
what a magnificent poem- Thanks Lydia for pointing us towards his vanishing star.
So sorry to hear.. We all get so close to some of our fellow bloggers .. your poem is such a great tribute.
Your poem in memoriam is so very gracious and tenderly written. The death of one who has been a friend of the ether is just as painful as the loss of any other - more so perhaps, because the loss is so complete - no closure allowed for when a blog falls silent.
im sorry!! its such a precious loss!! RIP !! its a beautiful tribute!!
thank you
There are many faults about the internet but the one truly wonderful thing is that it has allowed like minded people to meet who never would have done. This is a lovely poem and a beautiful tribute.
Thank you, Everyone, for your kind and gentle comments. Kerry O'Connor is so right about the sense of loss "when a blog falls silent" so your being here and thinking about Bob is no doubt a solace to his family and friends. I hope that they are filled with deep peace tonight knowing how many lives he touched.
This is lovely - the unfinished stanzas really spoke to me. I have a blogger friend that passed away and I linked her blog on my side bar - so I can easily reference her and read her blog when I like. It has been comforting to me.
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