Gone, Here, and Gone
Oh thee, of thine, whence came this life of mine?
I wish thee to thank for such living wine.
Oh Nature, Father Time, Guiding Star—
Thanks for throwing me this earthly lifeline.
Luckily, I live at peak atop life’s pile
Of miraculous lives through eons of wiles.
I’m alive, thanks to all who have come before,
So—how could I live by any style but smile?
Pretend that you’re dead and gone, siting on a star,
And regretting the emptiness of life’s memoir,
Thinking, If only I could live it all again!
Fancy yourself not here, then smile because you are!
Say Farewell! Heaven’s promise is bereft.
Still, live with gratitude—be not distressed;
Yet, dismiss immortality’s dream;
Accept, with appetite, whatever’s left.
I’ve said Good-bye to the dream of forever;
I’m too philosophical to be bitter.
Poignantly resigned, I accept, with hunger
And joy, all that’s left—whatever—with pleasure.
'Twas a time before birth when you were not;
'Twill be a time again when you are not.
From Death your life was a borrowed debit;
Spend it, love it, and live it to your credit.