Do Over

If I had it all to do
All over again
(A do over
A second chance
At reliving my life
So to speak)
I would do
The whole thing
Pretty much as
I’ve already lived it
Except that this time
I would do it all
In reverse

Since the most salient
Event in our lives as
Human beings
Is the inevitability of
Our own mortality
The first major life events
That we ought to plan for
Are the two most
Final life events of all
Our own deaths and
Our own funerals
(The two most important
Life events that
Most Americans wish to avoid
Thinking about at all costs)

I doubt this suggestion
Comes as much of a revelation
To the more thoughtful
Among us
Least of all
For the undertaker profession where
Prearrangements of funerals
Has become
Big business and
One of the most important
Mainstays of the industry
(Indeed if ever there was
A recession proof industry
This is the one)

Prearranging ones own funeral
Can prove to be a
Very liberating experience
Most of all
It can provide
A degree of
Peace of mind
Knowing that one’s
Decaying carcass
Will not be a
Burden on family and
Loved ones left behind

On the contrary
I would think that the
Overwhelming feeling
Would be one of
Deep gratitude to the
Departed loved one
For having been so thoughtful

Knowing that one’s
Final internment plans
Have been settled and
Put in order
Can be a great
Source of comfort

It seems to me that
Having settled one’s
Final state of affairs that
One is then set free
To live life
In as daring a manner as
One might please

I am not sure that
I would wish to duplicate
The great Nik Wallenda’s
Recent feat of walking
A tightrope across
Niagara Falls
(And without a net!)

But I just might like
To try my hand
At landing a
Great leaping Marlin
(Just like Poppa Hemingway
Once did!)
Way down south in
The Florida Keys
(Before I am truly
Too old and too palsied
To do so!)

Care to join me?

Jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012