To die peacefully, you must write a poem
so vast and frightening to yourself
you will inherit the wisdom to have it
buried off a highway for a few dollars
by a stranger who stops to ask directions
It will be the poem that defines your life:
outrage at injustice, disease and dying,
rare mornings of redbirds on emerald grass,
youth fallen sad foreseeing old age,
the betrayal of lovers,
long walks on windy afternoons
when you begin to think about eternity,
the mate you longed for and found,
forgiveness of lies and pain,
all those images that have sparked
your brain from the beginning
finally joined in perfect expression
of words confusing until now, a poem
never to be heard or seen by another,
the poem that will bring you to a moment
you could never have imagined
One day you may find the courage
to do that
I, for one, have not