Another Urn

Jennifer Pierro Ames 1981 (San Francisco)



Death comes to us all, as the saying goes, but there lived a girl with her fair share of woes

She lived a life not dissolute, but not one of piety,
And only those of loyalty and integrity she did seek for society

And at a tender age, she met a man,
Who tempered her ambition and asked for her hand

But the fates would not tell her and too late did she learn,
That to her shelf she'd add another urn

Life moved on, as the world keeps turning,
No matter how the seas be violent, seismic, tidal bores churning

Achievement she sought and did so with zeal,
For it helped to quell the sleep demon's appeal

But her dark family history slowly let itself be known,
And Death's bending sickle, his seeds planted and sown

So with a weighted heart and tears that burned,
Were added to the shelf more and more urns

But soon she chose to seek the beauty in life,
To ride the waves of hurt and conquer the strife

And for that time she experienced joy and glee,
The sense of greater purpose and the flight of the free

Until the day of darkness, blood-stained hands,
Her brother's life ended by a hammer, a faceless man

She wrote him letters but never used his full name,
For only his initials could lessen some pain

And in the anguish inside her that repeatedly churned,
She placed on her shelf yet another urn

What followed was inertia, dissociation of time,
And she relished the punishment of suffering sublime

But in moments of passion and a belief in the soul,
She saw kindness around her, and great change was her goal,

Yet the rollercoaster world eventually tired her,
And it took more and more effort to move and inspire her

And when the time neared, for her own death,
A twist of fate resulted in her husband's last breath,

For a rewind in time, she did beg and yearn,
But placed on her shelf another urn.

About this poem

This is a poem about grief, loss, and guilt. It is intended to paint a picture of someone who cannot escape constant loss, and despite all her efforts, feels helpless in her attempt to find solace and peace.

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Written on March 20, 2022

Submitted by sircharlenesir on May 05, 2022

Modified on March 24, 2023

1:54 min read
136

Quick analysis:

Scheme A BB CX DD EE FF GG HA II BB XC XX HD JJ KK LL MM DD
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,814
Words 375
Stanzas 18
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Jennifer Pierro Ames

Undergrad - UC Berkeley (psychology) Graduate - Brown University (psychology) Doctor of Veterinary Medicine - Purdue University Residency and diplomate status in medical oncology - University of Georgia more…

All Jennifer Pierro Ames poems | Jennifer Pierro Ames Books

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2 Comments
  • abielias1
    I love your use of the urns as a metaphor. The losses we experience never leave us, we keep them as talismans all our lives. The important thing to remember is that these urns are not reminders of a loss, they are talismans of a life 
    LikeReply 11 year ago
  • Dougla$Irishman
    Thanks for your very poignant poem about personal loss.
    Most of us in time can deal with loss but not all.
    They say time heals all wounds, with youth on your side I know you can do it !
    Us older folks fight the battle every day with losses and not much time to heal !
    Thankyou again for your poem.. 
    LikeReply 11 year ago

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"Another Urn" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/126071/another-urn>.

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