Journal entry by Al Negstad — a minute ago
Bequeathing tangible property is not always easy. Who should get what after a person dies, done well, requires wisdom and discernment. Money can perhaps be simply divided proportionately but that ignores a host of other values; needs? relationship? special circumstances?, etc. More complicated is the distribution of special effects which may have little monetary value but significant sentimental weight. Beyond the physical items are the intangibles. How does one pass on the joy of a special sunrise witnessed?
These are the issues Burns raises in the poem below, copied from The Writers Almanac,
Personal Effects
by Raymond Burns
These are the issues Burns raises in the poem below, copied from The Writers Almanac,
Personal Effects
by Raymond Burns
The lawyer told him to write a letter
to accompany the will, to prevent
potential discord over artifacts
valued only for their sentiment.
to accompany the will, to prevent
potential discord over artifacts
valued only for their sentiment.
His wife treasures a watercolor by
her father; grandmama's spoon stirs
their oatmeal every morning. Some
days, he wears his father's favorite tie.
her father; grandmama's spoon stirs
their oatmeal every morning. Some
days, he wears his father's favorite tie.
He tries to think of things that
could be tokens of his days:
binoculars that transport
bluebirds through his cataracts
could be tokens of his days:
binoculars that transport
bluebirds through his cataracts
a frayed fishing vest with
pockets full of feathers brightly
tied, the little fly rod he can still
manipulate in forest thickets,
pockets full of feathers brightly
tied, the little fly rod he can still
manipulate in forest thickets,
a sharp-tined garden fork,
heft and handle fit for him,
a springy spruce kayak paddle,
a retired leather satchel.
heft and handle fit for him,
a springy spruce kayak paddle,
a retired leather satchel.
He writes his awkward note,
trying to dispense with grace
some well-worn clutter easily
discarded in another generation.
trying to dispense with grace
some well-worn clutter easily
discarded in another generation.
But what he wishes to bequeath
are items never owned: a Chopin
etude wafting from his wife's piano
on the scent of morning coffee
are items never owned: a Chopin
etude wafting from his wife's piano
on the scent of morning coffee
seedling peas poking into April,
monarch caterpillars infesting
milkweed leaves, a light brown
doe alert in purple asters
monarch caterpillars infesting
milkweed leaves, a light brown
doe alert in purple asters
a full moon rising in October,
hunting-hat orange in ebony sky,
sunlit autumn afternoons that flutter
through the heart like falling leaves.
hunting-hat orange in ebony sky,
sunlit autumn afternoons that flutter
through the heart like falling leaves.
“Personal Effects” by Raymond Byrnes, published in Waters Deep: A Great Lakes Poetry Anthology
Ah, yes, what really is important in the land of grief?
Takk for alt,
Al
Ah, yes, what really is important in the land of grief?
Takk for alt,
Al
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