One Thousand Cranes

One thousand cranes holding a single wish. Five hundred I had made with such great haste,
You're made well, and I can finally see, this is our future just waiting to be.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

This right now is not your final farewell.
Merely a temporary place to dwell.
Forever apart we will never be,
But on the flip side will I find you there,
Frolic in the sunlight with pure delight.

Donne had said once before Death be not proud.
He can't keep our memories in a shroud.
One thousand cranes holding a single wish.
Five hundred I had made with such great haste,
Yet in twice the count did Time have me beat.

Recall his words of unwavering hope,
One short sleep past, we wake eternally.
You're made well, and I can finally see,
This is our future just waiting to be.

Notes:

John Donne is one I like very much. His Holy Sonnet No. 10 is quoted here: "Death be not proud…One short sleep past, we wake eternally.”
This poem has always held a special place in my heart- especially at times when loved ones become the dearly departed.
Rest well, my darling. Suffer no more now.
This is the full Holy Sonnet 10.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy'or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

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