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THE DAY I DIE
(Variations on a Theme in 5 parts)
** 1 **
THE DAY I DIE will, like the day I was born, be like any other:
on the edge of an abyss, looking into the face of oblivion;
buoyed by a cautious and fragile optimism;
anchored by the remains of sins past.
Held back by too many yesterdays unlived;
too many “Thank you”’s ungiven’
looking into the jaws of a tomorrow
that is undisclosed and undecipherable.
Somewhere, the sun will be shining;
someone will be laughing, someone will be crying;
somewhere there will be darkness,
somewhere there will be light.
The day I die will be like any other:
complete with soundtrack (roll tape!),
somewhere, in the corner of my mind,
I will hear Frank Croon, “I Did It my Way.
** 2 **
THE DAY I DIE will be like any other:
balanced on the edge;
restrained by too many yesterdays;
buoyed by a fragile optimism,
anchored by a stubborn (even vainglorious)
determination to prevail (despite the Odds);
staring into the imposter’s mask of tomorrow,
a mystery, a riddle; demanding a response.
** 3 **
THE DAY I DIE, the battle for humanity’s
soul, heart and mind will continue, unabated;
the Righteous will trumpet their revelation
(their “undisputable truth”);
those who question will be scorned and mocked;
the complement of all that it is to be human
will be reduced to truism and headline banners:
(so glib and sensational) - sells papers,
sells those casually, cynical “bytes” that so many -
even in an “advanced, educated” society fall for
(Plato, Socrates, Newton - who?);
damn the substance, sentiment rules. OK?
** 4 **
The Day I Die will be like any other:
drenched in blood, etched with pain,
ringing with the rage of the Righteous;
festooned with positive attitude, inspirational quotes
as a promised panacea to all evils.
With too many yesterdays unlived,
confronted by too many tomorrows undiscovered.
** 5 **
THE DAY I DIE will come (sing no sad songs).
The Book of Life will not close, a semi-colon perhaps
might be added to the long and winding
sentence that began with “He”
Another quantum of particulate matter and energy
will quietly fuse and be at one with the cosmos.
There will be no yesterday, today or tomorrow
- simply infinity, an eternal now.
The illusion of Time, and memories of Who or What was,
the division of time into past, present and future
will be the legacy of the living;
(roll tape, turn up loud!)
“I’ll stand right here
before the Lord of Song’
with nothing, nothing on my lips
but Hallelujah!”
Thank you, Leonard.
Les Bush
Copyright, 22 March 2013
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