I Wish I'd Written This - Poetry of Dave King

A Love Poem

By Dave King (August, 2013)

Do you remember how it was?

It was not always hearts and flowers

and sunshine through the trees.

The clichés sometimes passed us by,

but that first handshake fast became

two hands of friendship -- and the start

of all my happiness to come.

And then it was that joyfulness 

slipped by unnoticed for a while,

the way it often does.

Not just contentment: beauty,

and a kind of bliss I had not known before.

Dormant at times beneath a heap of cares --

the mortgage, job security, the kids --

but there as ever was in that same hand

that shook my world 

when nothing seemed it could.

And now it is that all is treasured

dearly once again, and known for its true worth --

and tightly clutched as in two hands.

A drowning man, I will not let it go.

How do I prepare for death?

By Dave King (September, 2013)

How do I prepare for death?

I asked a wise man long ago.

You don't, my son, 

the wise man said:

Let Death prepare for you. 

Her laundered sheets 

and candle lights

or spring flowers round the bed

will take you back

to early days...

How bright the vision then!

How clear the way ahead!

She'll sweep the house

of all those fears

accrued along the way:

the frights that have no form.

Not dreads of death,

but worse than those:

to not exist;

the aweful void.

Such terrors follow the more solid ones,

those obstacles the world threw up

to make you doubt or start again,

to hesitate.

Each in their turn depart.

And Death Shall Have No Dominion

By Dave King (January, 2009)

Like autumn leaves

we change our colours when we die.

That's all we ever were:

a change of colour on a canvas ground,

one small fleck of difference

on an otherwise flat field

in a desert 

           of indifference.

Here death

          is the death of all

dissimilarity,

             the smudge of detail,

the erosion

           of the figure by the ground.

Death is the perfect decorator,

a broad-brushed artisan

for whom the wall assumes

a perfect matt, flat hue.

Dave King  (19?? - 2013)

Dave King, who blogged at Pics and Poems,  has always been a well-respected poet in the poetry blogosphere, and as most of us know he passed away on October 4, leaving many with a feeling of loss.  Thursday dVerse Meeting the Bar  paid tribute to him (take a look), and we at Poets United thought it would be good to pay our own tribute to Dave as well featuring a few of his poems.

His poem "A Love Poem" is truly a beautiful poem, and a tribute to his long marriage to his wife.   I would say that this poem is one of my all-time favorite Dave King poems, one which truly shows his tender heart.   It is the kind of poem I wish I had written.

The second poem is "How Do I Deal With Death?" And it was his second last poem shared.  It is obvious that death was on his mind, though he advised his readers in his blog, "Don't read too much into this."  (But, of course, I am sure most did)

The third poem is "And Death Shall Have No Dominion," written in 2009.  I like especially the last four lines of that poem. Take a look.

Dave was a private person, for the most part.  He had chosen not to be featured in an interview at Poets United, preferring to keep a low profile.  I do know that he lived in Surrey, England, with his wife Doreen.  (They had at least one child, probably more.) Some of his growing up years were during World War II, and I remember one poem about playing in some of the rubble of war when he was a child & another in which he reminisced about being in the hospital quite seriously ill when he was young.  I always enjoyed his World War II (and after) reminiscences. Dave was a teacher by profession.  He also had a great interest in visual art and made mention of painting himself before his hands began to shake.

Dave was a prolific blogger.  He had blogged since December, 2006, and had hundreds of followers. Up until the last few months of his life he posted a poem every day, and he had a lot of loyal followers (and I am proud to have been one of them).  Dave had a scientific mind as well as a creative mind; and his poems often showed a very unique perspective & were very thoroughly (and almost painstakingly) carried out.  Dave had a style of writing that could be recognized, even if his name was not on the poem.

Last summer he started being absent from the blogosphere some days. In his August 15 entry, he shared why he was far less visible in the blogosphere.  He mentioned Stage 4 prostrate cancer; but he still sounded just a bit hopeful.   He continued to post poems periodically and commented on other poems as much as he could.  His September 16 poem "Why Can Only the Living Mourn?" was the last poem he wrote.  It is worth a look as well, if you haven't read it.  It seems he knew the end was relatively near.  On October 9, Dave's son Gavin wrote in Dave's blog that has father had passed away on October 4.  And thus was the end of the life of a very good man, a fine poet, someone who wrote many poems I would like to have written.

Rest in peace, Dave King.  I am sure many of us have poems of yours we wish we had written.

Any poem or photo used in ‘I Wish I’d Written This’ remains the property of the copyright holder (usually its author).