When I go
How will I know?
Will my life flash before me?
Timor mortis conturbat meClosing my eyes
For the final time
Will regrets come to plague me?
Timor mortis conturbat meThe hope I keep
Is that death is as sleep
This tries to comfort me
Timor mortis conturbat meWhen curtains fall
My desire – to walk heaven’s halls
And no longer will I say
“Timor mortis conturbat me”
©Vivian Zems
(# Jisei)
The Jisei form is a Japanese Death Poem
Timor mortis conturbat me -fear of death troubles me
Inspired By William Dunbar
The Lament for the Makers, is a poem in the form of by the Scottish poet William Dunbar (1459 or 1460- 1530).
Every fourth line remorselessly repeats the Latin refrain “timor mortis conturbat me“, a litanic phrase from the Office of the Dead.
Smell The Coffee 
November 30, 2017 at 8:38 pm
The repetition makes the piece haunting…and I do love bilingual poems. Thanks so much for sharing Vivian.
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November 30, 2017 at 8:40 pm
Thanks Rajani! I’ve had a blast!😁
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November 30, 2017 at 8:47 pm
Fascinating form and subject matter Vivian. I’m not sure there is an answer to any of those questions.
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November 30, 2017 at 8:49 pm
That’s the beauty of it. Death, like life is filled with ? marks.
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November 30, 2017 at 8:54 pm
Indeed…just another element of the great mystery.
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November 30, 2017 at 8:50 pm
The latin phrase works so well here and make me think of another one… memento mori… remember death. It was said that at the greatest moment of triumph a slave would whisper the words just to remind you.
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November 30, 2017 at 8:55 pm
Thanks Björn – you’ve just added to my knowledge 😊
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November 30, 2017 at 8:57 pm
Straight to the heart of it, Vivian. Well done!
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December 1, 2017 at 7:53 am
Thanks, Jilly 😊
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November 30, 2017 at 9:16 pm
… and thank you for the Latin!
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December 1, 2017 at 7:52 am
My pleasure 😊
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November 30, 2017 at 9:16 pm
There’s a lovely rhythm to this, a beautifully complete poem.
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December 1, 2017 at 7:52 am
Thank you!
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December 1, 2017 at 12:18 am
I love the theme of death but I guess we will never know until its our time ~ We have tackled death poems before in dVerse and its always fascinating to me – because we have no final answers to our questions.
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December 1, 2017 at 7:54 am
Exactly, no answers….
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December 1, 2017 at 1:42 am
There are so many things speculated upon by both preachers and poets neither of which knows for sure. Metaphors the elixir of life for the faithful!
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December 1, 2017 at 7:52 am
Thanks for your comments – so true!
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December 1, 2017 at 1:54 am
At some point, most of us get comfortable with one of the various suggestions–philosophic, metaphysical, or religious. I like the form you used. I tend to get into Zen-like metaphysics and cosmic consciousness; that works for me.
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December 1, 2017 at 7:50 am
And you do it so well!
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December 1, 2017 at 3:17 am
Fear of the unknown can be such Fear of the unknown can breed so many nightmares. Sometimes (all right, most times), I wonder if this is the reason why so many people need to believe in an after. Then again, some “afters” can be just as nightmarish.
Your use of repetition works so well with the theme.
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December 1, 2017 at 7:54 am
Thanks, Magaly😊
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December 1, 2017 at 4:45 am
One thing I learnt this year is that it is easier to die than to live, since illness took me to the brink… I experienced no fear of passing over but it took a lot of painful endurance to remain in the land of the living.
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December 1, 2017 at 7:50 am
That’s amazing in a haunting way. Glad you’re still here😊
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December 1, 2017 at 12:46 pm
This is an excellent piece. I love that it was inspired by another Scottish poet. 💛
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December 1, 2017 at 6:03 pm
Thanks, Walt!
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December 1, 2017 at 5:51 pm
Nice conclusion with the end of fear.
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December 1, 2017 at 6:04 pm
Thanks, Frank!
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December 1, 2017 at 6:33 pm
It is a topic we contemplate……….from all I have experienced and read, death often is peaceful. They say how we live, so shall we die.
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December 2, 2017 at 9:29 am
A good saying…😊
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December 1, 2017 at 8:23 pm
A beautiful rhythmic balance. Thoroughly readable. Thanks.
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December 2, 2017 at 9:28 am
Thank you! 😊
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December 1, 2017 at 11:22 pm
I too wonder. As a child I spent many nights wondering what lay beyond life.
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December 2, 2017 at 9:28 am
And now?
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December 3, 2017 at 1:58 am
I like this poem , especially the repetition and the slow changing from fear to hope.
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December 3, 2017 at 9:38 pm
Thank you! 🙂
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December 3, 2017 at 3:39 pm
An honest meditation on the end. Thank you!
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December 3, 2017 at 9:31 pm
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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December 5, 2017 at 6:17 pm
regrets? We all ponder that don’t we? I have a feeling most of us will be faced with what we didn’t do as opposed to what we did do… Time will tell. Well done.
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December 5, 2017 at 6:47 pm
You’re so right about that. Thank you!
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