They’re all going to die alone
And unhappy
And there’s nothing
That can be done about that
I was sitting in my deathbed
Before I recovered
Thinking about how
My third cousin died
Alone
Because he wouldn’t speak
With anybody in the family
After we refused
To acknowledge
That he wanted to be thought of
As Batman
That wasn’t a name change
Or an identity crisis
He wanted to be looked at
And thought of
As a maniacal millionaire
Who fights crime
As a side hobby
We wouldn’t do that
And so he exiled himself
Away from us
And he died alone
And unhappy
Same thing with his father
Who chose to live alone
And die alone
And live unhappy
And die unhappy
Because nobody liked his wife
Including him
But how dare the rest of us
Feel that way
About the woman
He was unhappily married to
We accepted her
Or we were gone
And so we were gone
And a year or two
After we were gone
He and his wife separated
And both died alone
And unhappy
Everyone in the family
Dies alone
Or unhappy
And the only solace there is
In thinking about that
Is knowing
That very few people
Die with a smile on their face
Unless they die like Great-Aunt Cecile
Who died in the throes of passion
But even she was apart from all of us
At the time
Because we wouldn’t consent
To her treating her sex-butler
As some kind of husband
But I suppose she died happy
And not alone
Which is more than you can say
For most of the people
On the ever-spinning death orb
We call a planet
Most of us are going to be alone
Because your last moment
Is spent with your eyes closed
And your mind feeble
And your hearing diminished
So I’m sure you feel quite isolated
Regardless of how many people
Are around you
When you go
When I nearly went
My eyes were open
And my mind was sharp
And my hearing was better than ever
Because someone finally thought
To clean out my ears
And so I sat up in my hospital bed
And thought--
I CAN’T DIE LIKE THIS
I’M NOT EVEN ALONE
AND I DON’T EVEN FEEL UNHAPPY
I didn’t want to die
With a little bit of happiness
Left in me
And aware
That I still have people
Who want to stand alongside me
As I approach oblivion
Somehow in knowing
That death could be unhappy
I neglected to realize
That there is something
Beyond unhappy
And that even as your life
Is about to finish up
It’s still possible
For it to get
So much worse
That was when I recovered
And I’ve felt great ever since
But I know eventually
I’ll wind up
Just like my grandparents
And my parents
And my siblings
And their in-laws
And my neighbors
And everyone else
Who tries and fails
To forget
That life moves unsparingly
Towards despair
Until then, I have my health
For whatever
That’s worth
