Death and the Miser, by Karen Herceg

Death and the Miser, by Hieronymus Bosch (Netherlands) 1485

Death and the Miser
 
The present flees in increments
departing in wispy steps,
increasing its pace.
The potential for more 
lessens in the verity of diminishing days.
We guard our gold and won’t leave,
though we are always leaving,
cannot believe that what we see before us
will exist no more 
as we rely on the tactile, the tangible.
Hoarders of possibilities 
accumulate remnants of mortality in boxes,
mistaken worth vainly secured and guarded.
But the locks are rusting and the keys won’t fit
and the guards wither
as shadows stalk stealthily and wink slyly,
hosts of conclusions 
watching us from the sidelines,
at the periphery of our vision.
And no churl or pinchfist can bag breath
and save its moments,
and no pleading to angels arrests the finality
of what we cannot hold.
 
Karen Herceg
 
Karen Herceg writes poetry, prose, essays, interviews, and reviews and also works as a mentor and editor. She was raised in New York and graduated from Columbia University’s Writing Program. Her work appears internationally in many publications. Karen is a reviewer for Pedestal Magazine. She interviewed Alan Alda for Writer’s Digest. She was the featured guest for the “Meet the Poet” series sponsored by the Forum for Cultural Engagement and the US State Department. Her work has been translated into Russian. Karen's second book of poetry, Out From Calaboose, was released in 2017. She has lived in France since 2019. Her website is www.karencorinneherceg.com.