Mortality Ramblings

I like my coffee sweet In fact I like lots of things sweet To my detriment Says my doctor I tell her My mission is to live Happily If possible Yours is to keep me alive To do that She shakes her head But grins anyway As she writes a lab slip For fasting glucose test And cardiac profile And a prescription For more pills I’m not usually a gambler I don’t play the lottery I wear my seatbelt But I smoke You would be horrified To know how much I’m horrified And they’re my lungs It’s an addiction But so long a part of my life It seems only fitting My death should also Be involved Will it be cancer or Emphysema I don’t know But death will come Surely Only a matter of How and when Do I spend my Waking moments Living Or dying? Well Both Don’t we all? Not much choice in that We are finite and mortal Do I worry Yes I hate to suffer I would prefer not to I would rather depart By my own hand Or with the help Of a beloved friend If it comes to that Is it Worth all this? Well I can’t really say Since I am Not there yet Show’s not over yet I know there are A few acts Yet remaining But I Have seen no previews I have no program To refer to The fat lady hasn’t sung yet Am I afraid? Today…no But no guarantee exists That I will sleep in peace tonight Tomorrow is still unknowable I am still Mostly optimistic Perhaps a trifle cynical But still looking forward To the game When the end comes The rules change Anyway So does the game I’ll be ready I think Bonnie Cook 19-Apr-02 Written April 19th, 2002 © on Apr 19 2002 07:30 AM PST    18 • 0 • 10