By Merritt Malloy.
When I die
Give what’s left of me away
To children
And old men that wait to die.
And if you need to cry,
Cry for your brother
Walking the street beside you.
And when you need me,
Put your arms
Around anyone
And give them
What you need to give to me.
I want to leave you something,
Something better
Than words
Or sounds.
Look for me
In the people I’ve known
Or loved,
And if you cannot give me away,
At least let me live on in your eyes
And not your mind.
You can love me most
By letting
Hands touch hands,
By letting bodies touch bodies,
And by letting go
Of children
That need to be free.
Love doesn’t die,
People do.
So, when all that’s left of me
Is love,
Give me away.
This poem popped up in my Facebook feed today (original post by someone named David Joyce in October 2019) and it seems like a fitting end for my daily poems. My physical poem board retired in August, and I’ve kept this site going on a mostly-daily basis. Even with various kinds of tech at my convenience to make consistent daily entries easier, I am now letting the daily posts cease. I will reserve the option to start back up again at a later date, but for now, many thanks to all who have read these entries and made suggestions. As we continue to navigate through this crazy world, please remember to be kind to each other. You can read an article about this original posting which made it to Upworthy here.