And since it is axiomatic to say, “There are worse things than death,” it is appropriate that today’s poetic device is

Elegy:  A poem of grief or mourning; a lyric lament.

The Poet’s Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Device, by William Packard.  While I am thinking of it, I should tell you that I am only partially quoting most of these definitions.  The examples and elaborations Packard gives for some of them go on, quite helpfully, for pages.

And so for my version of a lyric lament, which was written many years ago., thus, this post is taking the easy way out by using a pre-existing poem, which may or may not disqualify me from your assurances.  As for there being worse things to befall us than death, I would have to say, that may be true for the individual who experiences the departure, but it is not true for those of us who are left living.

Continue reading “Taking the Easy Way Out” →