Afterthoughts

2019-10-31

And so I’m dead.
By now I’ll know
If after-life has aught to show
Or whether it is nothing more
Than biochemical remains
That you’re consigning down below.

Yes, I’m dead, that’s doubtless true
But nothing else has gone from view
No other lives turned on their heads
Not here, at least.
Which matters more than who’s deceased.

In life I had one goal, to fill it…
Actually, two, if I could will it
Fulfil the many things I could
While being with the ones I loved.

Which all along, was my endeavour.
So never think I didn’t once
Appreciate the smallest moment
Spent alone or with another.
There’s so much that we could have covered
Had I not shuffled from this place…

…I’m dead. But:

The time we had, it was enough
Heady and inspiring stuff, but
Infinitesimally probable
Consequences of events
From Big Bang to birth’s miracle
Godly or godless, heaven-sent.

So could I feel, and if I had
The wherewithal to reveal
A single thought
It would be naught but gratitude
To this, to you
That have imbued
My life as-was.

And if you could, perhaps you ought
Remember that your time is short
Be bold, fear nothing but the thought
That life, a gift that comes by chance
Is only ever given once.