As We Bury A Great Woman Poem by RIC BASTASA

perhaps i shall tell more tales
about the greatness of this woman

imbued with firmness and
a self laden with the integrity of a queen

the eyes that speak more than what the hands
can hold
the stare that makes the bad guys
wear back their shirts and go back
to their usual work

the black umbrella and the
thick stockings
the long walks on the streets
the hauling of wood
the locking of the gates
when some have to come late

those important notes about
honesty
no cheating
the gerunds and the cognate objects
of her affection
the way she sees the potentials
in all of us
the manner by which she sends us
to the fronts of our own wars

for indeed she has and will always
be the woman for the other
now that she traverses another dimension
we should not watch her with sadness
for now she merely meets
her own greater destiny
not found here
not given by the emperors

goodbye
for what the earth has lost
surely is heaven's gain

i have given you the silence
of my victories.