To the stalwart poet who shouldered on
Beyond the valleys and bedrocks of Seattle City
We dug into your swashbuckling adventures, Blackthorne
As well as your World War 2 stories of grief & love
Though you have officially retired
Your gutsy voice and tell-it-as-it-is verses
Rise above the pub's din & chatter
Your eyes brimming with mirth & gladness of our group
Honesty is your calling card,
Your words, raw and rouge, raging
Against the status quo, Trump & his cronies
There is no mistaking your stance about life
And death
Do wake us up old ghost
And shake us out of our complacent boxes
We got work to do for our country & our neighbors
And most specially, labor on to be true on our words
Thank you!
Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight, hosted by Lillian Hallberg. RIP to Glenn Buttkus. Thanks for your comments and visits.
So much good to say about Glenn... we will all miss his voice at the bar. I hope to read more great memories about him at the bar.
ReplyDeleteyou got to know his well Grace and this Farewell says it all
ReplyDelete"Your gutsy voice and tell-it-as-it-is verses
Rise above the pub's din & chatter
Your eyes brimming with mirth & gladness of our group"
"Though you have officially retired/Your gutsy voice and tell-it-as-it-is verses/Rise above the pub's din & chatter,".. sigh .. this is such a poignant write, Grace! We will all miss Glenn and his poetic voice very much. ❤️❤️
ReplyDelete"Honesty is your calling card" Indeed. Thank you for this beautiful tribute, Grace. It is so very special to read everyone's comments and posts. I shall somehow, forward today's dVerse tribute page, poems and comments to his wife.
ReplyDeleteYes. The world could use more of Glenn to rattle its cages.
ReplyDeleteWritten as one who shared many nights in the pub. A fine farewell.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tribute! 💗
ReplyDeleteBravo Grace, very much a call to arms - Glenn would have approved...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tribute and farewell
ReplyDeleteRight on! We have work to do.
ReplyDeleteSuch a heartfelt, beautiful tribute, Grace!
ReplyDeleteA very nice tribute grace. He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteYou have captured his voice, never afraid to call it as he felt it. He believed in a place after here and I am sure his energetic light shines on.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Grace. Glenn was a special force unto himself — strong, raw yet refined, unfiltered, real, and wholly irreplaceable. I truly feel the chasm he has left. Certainly I, and I believe dVerse as well, sorely need his view of the world, if we’re to ever be the quite the same again.
ReplyDeleteI really loved the last stanza, treating death as a friend who wakes us up. 🤍
ReplyDeleteIt is quickly apparent Glenn was a man with a deep social conscience unafraid to speak bluntly and honestly. Your words are a true tribute to him. Heaven knows the world needs shaking up from complacency.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful, heartfelt tribute, Grace! You have captured his rare qualities so well. We will all miss him.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem to honour Glenn's memory, Grace. I especially love the third stanza, and for some reason the lines "Do wake us up old ghost" and "We got work to do" made me feel choked up! <3
ReplyDelete