Last Will & Testament

I am not afraid to die.
What I fear is prolonged life,
a body far too weak to cry
for mercy: poison, gun, or knife!

No heaven waits to call me in,
no gentle harp, no angels’ choir;
no Godly afterlife begins,
providing all that I desire.

There’s only this, the here & now,
and when there’s nothing more to do
than lie here like a sickly cow
without the will even to moo,

then pull the plug. Strike up the band
and start the march. Begin the wake.
Take me to a promised land
where dying’s not for heaven’s sake,

which honors this advice my father gave:
There’s nothing to expect beyond the grave.

Charles Deemer