Spirit vs Form – A Poor Life vs No Life 11/1/83
This poem fits into the timeline of the memoir around this point.

Chris (my brother) told me of our tragedy last night, the death of my sister Becky’s baby, only 2 hrs old. Time for another reassessment of my views on life, death, and the rest.

Spirit VS Form – A Poor Life VS No Life

I’m filled with
Rage and grief
O’r the loss
Of my new niece

A summer breeze
The winter chill
A life of ease
Or a job that kills

The joy of love
The pain of loss
The will to live
And its cost

The love of parents
For their child
And the tendency
To go wild

Curse heavens and earth
Why this infant’s birth
Wasn’t meant to be
From the first

If there’s a God
As we’ve been told
Where’s the life
We’ve been sold – death

Does he smile – bemused
By our futile rage
But these are questions
For a sage – not me

–LE