I was leafing through a hefty stack of unpublished poems in my home office yesterday, and this one struck me. I think the you referenced in the poem is actually me—so I need to heed my own advice.

May You Live

May you come to the realization
That you have no control.

May you relinquish your desire
To dictate the path of your existence.

May you surrender to the absurdity
Of this exercise in futility,

Understanding that this beautiful mess
Known as life will lead you
where it wants you to go. No exceptions.

May you realize that death is rushing toward you,
And it’s coming for all of us.

May you realize that your family and friends
Will be unable to spare you from this fate.

Why do I pester you with these dark thoughts?
Simply so you’ll pause to appreciate the few moments
We are granted on the surface of this earth.

The chance to mix and mingle
And touch and caress with flesh and spirit.

The opportunity to laugh and love and interact
before disease and illness and old age

Make us weary of carrying around
A body that will soon be a corpse.