Some Things to Do in the Face of Death
for Manny Castillo
"The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real."
—To Be of Use by Marge Piercy
by Jim LaVilla-Havelin
Paint the casket.
Stare back.
Bring the gifts.
Don’t mourn, organize.
Do the right thing.
Stand at the four corners, watchful.
Do what the moment suggests, facing
an eternity of moments.
Drum.
Do what needs to be done.
Do more.
Play the sax.
Embrace.
Follow the example of the exemplary life.
Laugh.
Cry.
Sing.
Gather light.
Remember, but do not lock away as past.
Re-dedicate.
Make food.
Make art.
Make peace.
Make love.
Continue the work.
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Originally published in Counting (Pecan Grove Press, 2010).
This is a favorite because it’s an elegy and a list poem, a really good poem to read aloud, and one of the first poems of mine that actually live in San Antonio.
Manny, who died young, was the director of a community organization called San Anto Cultural Arts, a force on SA’s Westside visible in a mural project across the neighborhood, and newspaper of place. The poem’s specifics are from his memorial service in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
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JIM LAVILLA-HAVELIN is the author of eight books of poetry, including two forthcoming in 2025, Mesquites Teach Us to Bend (Lamar University Press, 2025) and A Thoreau Book (Alabrava Press, 2025). He is the co-editor of the Houston University Press, Unsung Masters volume on Rosemary Catacalos (2025) and as Literary Executor for Catacalos’ estate, he is assembling her unpublished work for a volume Sing!. An educator, editor, and community arts activist for over 50 years, LaVilla-Havelin coordinates National Poetry Month activities in San Antonio. Awarded the City of San Antonio’s Distinction in the Arts for Literary Art, he teaches at The Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center for Gemini Ink’s Partners Program, teaches senior citizens in the Go Arts Program through Bihl Haus Cultural Arts, and high school students as Poet in Residence at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy.