Consider the End

 

I write with a cloud of sadness hanging over me about a friend,

Lying in a hospital ward, terminally ill, and facing life’s end.

He had had a varied and interesting life;

Lived in five states with a devoted and faithful wife.

 

His two children did well by the world’s way of measuring success;

Though the grandchildren indulge in food and drink somewhat to excess.

My friend could be proud of his family as far as wealth and fame;

They have made striving by the world’s standards their sole aim.

 

A comfortable home my friend owns in a well-to-do suburb;

Now retired, lack of anything for him and his wife was almost unheard.

Proudly my friend wrote not long ago about their brand-new car;

Plans with his wife he had made for a cruise and a safari afar.

 

Now and then, we would sit and share a home or restaurant meal.

Yet, sadly, the conversation only with trivia or latest politics did deal.

Also, taken he was by the latest iPad or iPhone app,

So into life’s rich and deeper meaning never alas did we tap.

 

Then, with an aggressive cancer my friend was diagnosed as such.

Yet, even with deteriorating health, his life did not change much.

He continued being fully absorbed with all of this world’s affairs,

Avidly following his favourite sports teams and market shares.

 

Carefree weeks, months, and years had sped for him by.

The sudden news of his incurable illness truly made me sigh.

As I think of the time he had to prepare for life’s final journey,

His having pursued just wealth and pleasures truly concerns me.

 

Many plan and live as though their earthly life will endlessly go ahead,

Not thinking how unexpectedly and quickly this existence can end instead!

In reality, there’s much to take care of before we die,

Many important tasks to undertake before we see that death is nigh!

 

We should know what to do for ourselves even as we die;

To know what is happening; be ready to let go and say good-bye.

Above all, it’s important, if at all possible, to have a peaceful death;

To have addressed our hopes and fears before taking the last breath.

 

Writing these stanzas, I feel sad over my friend in hospital dying,

Maybe without hope, as well as full of anguish and fear, there lying!

May we each our coming death earnestly take to heart,

And serious reflection and preparation even today start!

 

Alex and Eva Peck

(Reflecting on a friend, presently hospitalized and facing end of life.)