RIVERWOODS POEMS: LAST WORDS

LAST WORDS

(from Dr. Ira Byock’s book, “The Four Things That Matter Most”)

“Please forgive me.  I forgive you.

Thank you.  I love you.”

“The end of life makes Bhuddists of us all.”

We once approached St. Peter’s gate

In fear and trepidation:

Would he let us in?

Or sought the Holy Church’s blessing

The Open Sesame

To Heaven’s bliss,

Or carried coin to hire Charon

To ferry us across

The River Styx.

But now we can elect the manner

Of our dying

If not the moment,

And we can tell our loved ones

That we loved them

The best we could,

And they in turn can tell us if

For all our failings,

We did some good.

(RiverWoods, November, 2013)