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Talhaiarn At The Brink Of Suicide: Prayer For Him

[in memory of Talhaiarn (bardic name of John Jones), January 1810 – October 1869]

 

In pain's excess, you put against your head
a pistol and, without pause, squeezed the trigger. 

The Gospel you believed so long is bigger
than any problem we might fear or dread:

therefore I pray that Mercy will be found
and prove you died while mentally unsound,

driven beyond the point of sanity

by galloping, arthritic agony.

 

Starward

 

[jlc]

 

Author's Notes/Comments: 

The last two lines are based upon some evidence that Talhaiarn's body was so wracked by arthritic pain (and the only alternative would, likely, have been an addiction to laudanum) that, in that excess of physical agony, he took his own life.  I believe this exonerates him from that sin.  

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last updated 23 February 2021 - 12:45am
©20 March 2014 - 2:14pm — S74rw4rd
23 March 2014 - 4:39pm — a.griffiths57
a.griffiths57's picture

    Mercy and forgiveness

 

 

Mercy and forgiveness indeed, must have been depressed and mentaly ill to have committed suicide. 

 

 

http://www.postpoems.org/authours/a.griffiths57

23 March 2014 - 10:52pm — S74rw4rd
S74rw4rd's picture

Tbank you

Several days have passed since the initial news of this sad event, and the writing of the poem.  His family now believes that he feared he was becoming a burden to them.  He was in his mid-80's, enfeebled, and unable to get around much on his own.  He did hot leave any kind of note or explanation, to the best of my knowledge, and thus anything we might think of is speculative only.  I have found, also, that Orthodox theology is far more cognizant of God's mercy than I have been in the twenty years I have been a Christian.  Formerly Baptist, I would not have written such a poem prior to my conversion to Orthodoxy.

Starward