Jeffrey Hull

i79 morning, West Virginia © 2010 Rick Lee


I had a talk a while ago
   With Immortality;
Surprised was I at his display
   Of interest in me.

I'd spent some time with his dear friend
   The droll Infirmity,
Who shared with me some cheery tales
   While chatting over tea.

Now once I thought an endless life
   Meant blessed eternity
But these old fellows seemed to hint
   An endless misery.

Still others visited my hours
   With infelicity,
But none could match the icy stare
   Of mute Infinity:

That gloomy countenance conveyed
   A chill civility
That cast a shadow black as night
   Upon my reverie.

His eyes, void, zeroes, dead as stone,
   Bereft of sympathy
Peered forth as from the blackest night
   With bleak severity.

And leaving, ere he closed the door
   His thought came plain to me:
"It's only in the moving on
   That souls find liberty.

"What e'er awaits those on this plane
   Defies discovery
Of what lies next for all those souls
   That travel on with me."


© 2010 Jeffrey Hull