Brief
Of the class of ’77
to my mind you were the best
Diamond moments
in empty halls,
instruments lying at your mercy,
each note, every chord
an affable smile
pavilioned in memory
How could you
be so brief,
this grief be so long?
image and poem © copyright dfbarker 2012
Ciscography 
I really love this poem–Rich, moving. “Diamond moments” is exceptional!
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We lost two old friends this week…the poem takes on some personal meaning. Poetry softens the edges a bit, I think, not because the image isn’t sharp, but because in poetry there is a sense that some of life’s passages are just shared by everyone. Your words of loss and grief imply you know something about that, too. I come back regularly to see how you put words to things we all experience but don’t have the ability to say in a meaningful way. Debra
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Hi David
you had a great year I think 🙂
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Hello, I’ve nominated you for the Versatile blogger award. More details her: http://wp.me/p1ZC80-G2
Love, Steph
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This one speaks to me…thank you….
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Hi,
Very sad, but written so beautifully.
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Something very tender and sad about this one. I feel it, it’s wonderfully striking.
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dfb,
I so loved your poem. It so resonates with me. I have not been blogging as my everyday friend died in a flash flood without saying goodbye, but I have been reading your blog and have seen at least two of your poems that have made me feel connected in grief.
Best, Sarah
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Oooh the last three lines are great! Memories can last so long… Well done.
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… a lovely one David, sad or happy…it´s for the reader to decide…I’m sure every single one felt warmth within your words, and was drowned into a cloud of memories…. (well…at least I was… :))
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Thank you – I appreciate it.
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Hi – sorry to hear about your loss. Yes, this is about a school friend. Thank you Debra, I appreciate your comments.
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Thank you Ina!
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Thank you Steph! I am honoured!
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Thanks very much!!!
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Thank you again Mags.
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Thank you Eve – I appreciate your comments. 🙂
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Sarah, thank you, I’m glad I might have helped a little bit with your grief. Best wishes, David.
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Christy, you are very kind, thank you!
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Thank you very much! Yes, I remember this person vividly, so much talent, suddenly gone.
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sounds like music, summer and love…and how could we ever forget…no matter how brief..made me somehow think of “summer of 69″…nice…humming…smiles
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I am feeling you, my friend! its beautiful!
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I wasn’t sure but that I could have been in a place where I was putting too much of my own week behind the poem. It is a beautiful piece. D
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This is so beautiful David.Its is just the way life is, people come and go and they leave these imprints behind in every thing, even on our soul and every now and then a breeze brings those memories gushing back to us..
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Thank you so much, Wendell!
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Thank you so much!
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Thank you Soma! You are so right about ‘imprints’. 🙂
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‘How could you
be so brief,
this grief be so long?’
Oh how this pulls at my heartstrings! Magical, moving, wonderful…
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Thank you very much, Laurel!
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Those last three lines are a power-punch, David. Great poem!
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So beautiful in a melancholy way, David, and I, too, can relate to your words~
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Thank you Lauren!
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Why is pleasure so brief and sorrow so long?
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Thank you for your comment!
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Beautifully perfect ode to a lost, musically gifted classmate! I have one or two such remembrances.
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Thank you Granbee! 🙂
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A poignant memory and tribute. The guitar took on the embodiment of your loss…
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Thank you, I appreciate it.
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