I thought I saw a shooting star
not far above the height of my head
on the road outside my fence-line

it moved fast enough to create the illusion
but soon
too soon
it became just a car
travelling the highway
lights reflected
on the overhead wires
of the electricified train line
and in a moment
it was gone

I feel I am a bookend to their relationship

I was there at the beginning
a dinner in a formal restaurant
jean-jacques
maybe the eatery by the sea
maybe their other place
maybe a different restaurant altogether
I no longer recall
but I was there
the day she and he came out together
the first time
the time it all began
to have a form and a shape

they married
both with the baggage
that comes with certain years
but they made their arrangements with each other
and lived on through a decade or so

occasional convergence
constant friendship rekindled
as required
never a drama
always there
I find I've gone on that way with so many
through the years
these 'certain years'
that we who are now of an age
that was once the preserve of our parents
and their middle-aged friends
pass through on our individual journeys
to wherever it is we are travelling
the place where
I don't really know

and now I am here
at the end
after the catastrophe
the death in the middle of
everything
that has lingered now
for forty-eight hours
while decisions about his lingering life
the viability of his organs
about the certainty of decease and its aftermath
are made with solicitous care
about someone I once knew
and while I am only a peripheral
I am involved
in the whole of this
process
the series of steps and consequences
I cannot resist the call

I am the moral support
observer and dispassionate advisor
the ears and a heart
for I was there when it all began
and I am here now
at the ending

death is not the trauma here
but that simple man wanted so much less
than he has been given
it is the more that is cause for trouble
the tests and procedures
to confirm
the knowledge of a death inside his brain
and the absence of his soul
so long needed before the pronouncement
in these things lies the pain
and the distress to all

but it is nearly done
the beginning and the end
accounted for
it is late now and I have been affected
in the morning
I so hope it will be completed
tubes removed
organs taken and despatched to god knows where
some other victim in need
of saving

the corpse prepared for viewing
with the best decency good will can muster
for this man who died
two days ago
but has not yet
been allowed to stop breathing

I was there at their beginning
and now I will remain
until the end
until the deposit of ashes
onto the moving water
of the bay

you know I thought tonight
for a brief moment
that I saw a shooting star
skimming low
across the horizon
I know it was only an illusion
only the reflection of a passing light
but for that fleet moment
I thought
it could be real

~

Frank



The Tales of Faust poetry page can be found at:
http://www.hotkey.net.au/~flp/F_index.htm


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