I, who was born just yesterday
have aged with speed
yet been gifted great deeds
how the sweetness of life enthrals me!
my riches are vast and deep
love is the only treasure I wish to keep
rich memories to the grave will I take
how the sweetness of life enthrals me!
life though brief is filled with purpose
finding mine completed me
and on judgment day, I wish to sing,
“how the sweetness of life enthrals me!”
©Vivian Zems
Brendan asks us to write to the ghosts, in response to a poem at Real toads. I decided to give a response to William Dunbar’s “Lament for the Makers”
Timor mortis conturbat me= fear of death dismays me
Lament For The Makers
BY WILLIAM DUNBAR
I that in heill wes and gladnes,Am trublit now with gret seiknes,And feblit with infermite;Timor mortis conturbat me.Our plesance heir is all vane glory,This fals warld is bot transitory,The flesche is brukle, the Fend is sle;Timor mortis conturbat me.The stait of man dois change and vary,Now sound, now seik, now blith, now sary,Now dansand mery, now like to dee;Timor mortis conturbat me.………………………………….
Smell The Coffee 
January 21, 2018 at 8:47 am
Nice inversion, and an introduction to a poem I didn’t know at all. I love your positive response.
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January 21, 2018 at 10:51 am
Thanks Sarah! I appreciate your comments. By the way, I completed your poem https://smellthecoffeeweb.blog/2018/01/19/dancing/
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January 21, 2018 at 9:59 am
🙂 Very good change for the better!
Life, love, and death are not separate things.
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January 21, 2018 at 11:41 am
Precisely. They are entertwined. …always.
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January 21, 2018 at 10:14 am
‘life though brief is filled with purpose finding mine completed me’… sigh… beautiful!💞
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January 21, 2018 at 10:53 am
Thank you!😊
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January 21, 2018 at 10:23 am
You set yourself a tough challenge, Viv, and aced it! William Dunbar is the oldest ghost with whom any of us have played tennis! And what a lovely refrain: “how the sweetness of life enthrals me’, more positive than ‘fear of death dismays me’.
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January 21, 2018 at 10:54 am
Thank you!😊 I’m glad you enjoyed this 😆
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January 21, 2018 at 10:52 am
Wonderful ghost to play with. So good to read that Scots vernacular. Even better when heard.
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January 21, 2018 at 10:55 am
Thank you!😊 Beautiful when heard- I agree.
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January 21, 2018 at 11:16 am
Great job of goosing the ghost here. Turns the ages upside down. The poem has a substantial voice next to the ghost of Dunbar and his Latin conceit. (Strange note, “Lament For The Makers” is also a poem by WS Merwin, lamenting the passing of so many poets who greatly influenced him. I didn’t know of this much prior poem by Dunbar, obviously Merwin was tipping his hat to his eldest heirs…)
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January 21, 2018 at 11:39 am
Thanks Brendan. Obviously, Merwin was nodding to Dunbar. I haven’t read Merwin’s yet….but will do so. I appreciate your comments.
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January 21, 2018 at 12:45 pm
Wonderful Vivian! I loved the way you responded.
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January 21, 2018 at 2:44 pm
Thank you!😊
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January 21, 2018 at 3:57 pm
This was a ghost from the distant past… love it… and how you poured light into his darkness.
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January 21, 2018 at 6:14 pm
Thanks Björn! I needed to add a smile to it.
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January 21, 2018 at 10:25 pm
I’m so not a religious person, but I believe in an Energy (for lack of a better term) that guides us. So spiritual then. And I love religious themes. So this totally gets my vote. I was imagining this hanging in your / an office for some reason.
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January 21, 2018 at 10:35 pm
Ha! thanks 🙂 I wish it were on my wall 🙂
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January 22, 2018 at 1:20 am
Do it! You have officially been dared!
Btw, was that a thing in the UK, or is “I dare you” more of an American thing? I missed hearing that living outside of the U.S. Still do.
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January 22, 2018 at 1:52 am
“I dare you”…we use that here. Lol!
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January 22, 2018 at 3:00 am
😀 I love it. Tried to explain it to some non-English speakers with disastrous results. 🤣
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January 22, 2018 at 5:53 am
oh? 🙂
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January 22, 2018 at 2:07 pm
In the sense of not being able to get the point across due to the language not having a word for it. Or a different meaning. For instance, in my mom’s native language “full of s***” means you’re a weakling who can be bullied. They’re the biggest bullies on Earth, but they don’t have a word for bullying. Go figure. 😀 But to date someone, in French and German you’d have to say something along the lines of, “you don’t have the courage.”
Didn’t mean to sound overly dramatic. 😁
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January 22, 2018 at 2:52 pm
No, this is good! It never crosses my mind often that even within Europe, phrases have different nuances. I consider myself better informed 🙂 🙂
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January 22, 2018 at 3:55 pm
🙂 I aim to please. 😀 It used to drive me bonkers as a kid.
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January 22, 2018 at 6:21 pm
😊
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January 21, 2018 at 10:50 pm
What a lovely, encouraging breath of life in your words.
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January 21, 2018 at 11:51 pm
Thanks, Susie!
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January 22, 2018 at 6:45 am
Gloomy fellow, Dunbar, wasn’t he? I’m with you, enthralled by life’s sweetness and celebrating its richness. 🙂
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January 22, 2018 at 7:24 am
Thanks Rosemary, I just had to add some light to the dark😊
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January 22, 2018 at 7:25 am
Your site has been deleted!
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January 22, 2018 at 3:58 pm
Your POEM enthralls me, with its joyous love of life. So wonderful to read. Life is indeed rich.
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January 22, 2018 at 6:21 pm
Thank you!😊
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January 22, 2018 at 10:58 pm
This poem gave me such a sense of peace. You have also introduced me to a new poet. Thanks, Vivian!
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January 23, 2018 at 7:22 am
My pleasure 😊
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