Reading The Sunday Paper.

Reading The Sunday Paper.

He spent some time reading obituaries,
with his morning coffee
and a toasted bagel.
This one died suddenly.
That one passed away peacefully.
Another died in an accident.
All died too soon.
All died leaving loving relatives and friends.
Some had many of them.
Their obituaries were long.
Some had fewer of them.
Their obituaries were short.
The obituary page
is required reading
for those of us
who need to know if we are dead.
We all wonder what our obituary will say.
We all know that we will have one written some day.
I don’t want to go out that way.
I want to write the words
that won’t be remembered
beyond the pages thrown away.