Perhaps it is simply my aging, and being almost 70 years of age that I ask myself about my last day on earth. And perhaps it is with the relative recency of my mother dying in November 2023, that her gratitude for a life well-lived stays with me. But this poem written in July 2024, really is not about age, but about how we live each and every day.
If you were told that it was your last day
Have you thought of what you’d do and say
Since that day when given birth
And all this time you’ve spent on earth
Have you said ‘I love you’ to those you do
Or if in French, ‘je t’aime beaucoup’
Have you said ‘thanks’ for a life been shared
And acknowledged those who have really cared
Have you shared your stories, both fun and sad
So, people know and they’ll be later glad
Answered questions of the life you’ve led
Hoping that learnings will be spread
Have you asked forgiveness for wrongs in the past
And forgiven those even if never asked
And thanked your creator for being with you
On life’s journey and what you’ve put them through
Have you shared the best of who you are
Making the world better and others stars
Have you lived your dreams and done your best
Touching others so they’re feeling blessed
Have you made someone feel unique
With a ‘hello’, or listening while they speak
Have you been generous or extra kind
Leading to a more peaceful state of mind
And at the end of day, with all done and said
You may find that you have been misled
It’s not your last day; there is tomorrow
A brand, new day without the sorrow
What a great way to continue life
You are now aligned without the strife
To live each day as if the last
Not that easy, but what a blast!