How to Die
Start early
Don’t leave it
to the last minute
Pull up a chair
and watch what happens
Don’t forget to breathe
before you stop breathing
Don’t leave without saying goodbye
______Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United
"A blog is to a writer what a canvas is to an artist." ~ Colleen Redman
11 Responses | Add your Own
Leave a reply
XHTML Tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>
February 14th, 2021 2:38 am
Excellent advice. My late husband Andrew followed it exactly, and I’m sure that was better than if he had done it some other way. Still, this piece quite stops MY breath; its depth and truth make it all the more confronting. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have written it; you absolutely should. It’s good for me, sometimes, to be brought up short by something so deep and true. I only hope for your sake it was not written out of bitterness that someone did NOT die in this manner.
February 14th, 2021 5:29 am
Excellent advice.
I put off writing a will for years, fearing it would tempt fate… I think I was probably sixty when I finally did and I am still here eight years later – and long may this state continue.
Regularly tell family and friends that I love them. but this is not new.
Across a few years I have been slowly redecorating my house as I want it in good order for when my children sell it after my death. But, and this is an important but (to me), I don’t intend to ever fully finish it, yet again for the fear I might be tempting fate…
Anna :o]
February 14th, 2021 6:26 am
The saddest thing is to regret not having said goodbye or other words that you might regret doing so after they have gone. It is better to be honest and true and then you will not be regretful.
February 14th, 2021 9:06 am
I didn’t write this with any bitterness, Rosemary, in fact it is meant to be light…but direct, in keeping with my study of death and Buddhist passage: Death is real/ It comes without warning / No one escapes it / Soon my body will be a corpse.
February 14th, 2021 10:08 am
Nice work, CR. The breathing lines are great, but the good-bye closing is, for me anyway, most important.
February 14th, 2021 12:43 pm
This is brilliant, Colleen. I love how such few words tackle a huge issues: One should take the time to do what matters while one is alive, for death will be for other things. We wouldn’t want to leave anything half done. Also, I love the light tone–too many cultures make death so very gloomy. I’ve always wondered if more people would live better life, if they weren’t so terrified of the what too many perceive as the end.
February 14th, 2021 1:07 pm
Buh-bye ~ couldn’t resist! And on a more serious note, I have watched as loved ones, good friends took final breaths …. saying goodbye is one of the most beautiful things we can do. Cheers.
February 14th, 2021 2:15 pm
Don’t leave without saying goodbye, and don’t leave things unsaid, lest death take away all the chances and you’re left full of words unsaid.
February 14th, 2021 2:35 pm
Pull up a chair–yup–this is the way we all need to embrace
February 15th, 2021 5:15 pm
That describes the First Husband’s last months quite well.
February 15th, 2021 5:19 pm
I like how this feels both whimsical and serious. That last line especially. Its a reminder to make sure to tuck a bit of love into every meeting in case it must do double duty as a goodbye.