Notable Deaths of 2024

The death of the robust

laugh of utter joy.

The departure from

this earthly plane of

a purely tranquil moment.

Countless hoary trees

and saplings dispatched

in pyres of smoke and flame.

Wrapped in shrouds

people who perished

in madding crowds.

Buried unburdened,

souls living le dolce vita.

The crystalline remains

of shattered faces,

as if discarded mirror shards

no more able to show their own reflection.

Metamorphosis is never easy.

.

Afterword: I was struck by the turn of phrase used in a standard year-end recounting of those recognized persons who have passed away this year and it started me thinking about what else has been lost, some things perhaps irretrievably, and what might come to pass. Are we entering a liminal time?

Also, The British Economist in their “On language” feature just has published its word of the year for 2024, it is kakistocracy. Here is the concluding paragraph: “Kakistocracy has the crisp, hard sounds of glass breaking. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on whether you think the glass had it coming. But kakistocracy’s snappy encapsulation of the fears of half of America and much of the world makes it our word of the year.”

News source: https://www.reuters.com/world/look-back-notable-deaths-2024-2024-12-05/