Thursday, March 2, 2023

Farewell

 

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.

18 comments:

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. you got to know his well Grace and this Farewell says it all
    "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"

    ReplyDelete
  3. "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
  4. "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.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes. The world could use more of Glenn to rattle its cages.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Written as one who shared many nights in the pub. A fine farewell.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bravo Grace, very much a call to arms - Glenn would have approved...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful tribute and farewell

    ReplyDelete
  9. Right on! We have work to do.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such a heartfelt, beautiful tribute, Grace!

    ReplyDelete
  11. A very nice tribute grace. He will be missed.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You 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.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful 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.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I really loved the last stanza, treating death as a friend who wakes us up. 🤍

    ReplyDelete
  15. It 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.

    ReplyDelete
  16. A beautiful, heartfelt tribute, Grace! You have captured his rare qualities so well. We will all miss him.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What 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

I try my best to reciprocate comments and visits.
I allow anonymous comments if you have difficulty posting them. Thank you & have a good day!!!