“Calavera Cyclists” Jose Guadeloupe Posada
Death is not an exit,
it’s a starting point.
The opening stretch of
a cross-country bike event.
Brutal uphill climb,
our skeletons as cyclists
pedaling without helmets
through rough forest paths.
An after-life peloton, all of us
vying to be first to the prize:
what’s on the other side
of life’s finish line.
Skeletons can draft for days.
Stripped of religion and race,
all the same:
bare bones confused
and as the steep climb continues,
we forget the details
of our own face.
Until our frame is ready
to make it’s final breakaway.
©2023 | K. Hartless
GloPoWriMo#28 This was written for Late Night Poet’s May 5th show honoring the art of Jose Guadeloupe Posada.
Yard Sale of Thoughts 
Wow!! This is so thought provoking! Totally love it!!
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Thank you. Those skeletal cyclist got me thinking. I appreciate these comments.
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Very striking piece! 🙂 Great memorable imagery throughout.
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Thank you, Tom. I have the bike out front and the weather is making it possible to hit the trails again. Biking into the afterlife would be pure bliss
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Very well crafted. Words and picture synonymous.
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Many thanks. I enjoyed imaging this after-life marathon.
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bone-rattling good 🙂 what a conceit: a skeleton peleton !
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Many thanks. That was one of my favorite lines. I’m so glad you liked it as well. 😊
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loved it 🙂
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[…] GloPoWriMo#30: Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a palinode – a poem in which you retract a view or sentiment expressed in an earlier poem. Here is my earlier work: The Final Breakaway […]
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[…] GloPoWriMo#30: Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a palinode – a poem in which you retract a view or sentiment expressed in an earlier poem. I thought it would be fun to double down on this idea and retract not only my previous poem, but tonight’s poem as well. Tonight’s musings: Death is a Pendulum Ride and my earlier work: The Final Breakaway […]
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I read this after I read “Death is a Pendulum Ride” and they really work so well together. The idea of exploring death as either this bare bones fast paced trip or simply as a quick slip away is very interesting.
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Thank you. My original piece was death as a bicycle race, which was also good fun, but this was more passive. More it’s happening to you, buckle in and hold on tight.
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