to help the species

at the last breath

a “bucket list” has never particularly appealed to me,

the checking off on a list,

almost like a list of chores that need doing,

I do judge my life, though,

particularly during the last 57 years,

all that time since my Daddy was there,

and suddenly wasn’t,

if I’m breathing my last breath,

what will I regret?

what will I be proud of?

when my brother was slipping away,

I kept seeing him as a little boy,

so scared of what was coming,

many of us have the dream of a sudden test,

and we’re not prepared,

the concept of St. Peter works for me,

a way to personify a celestial judge,

who knows my heart, and my actions,

whether I’ve lived well,

karma works just as well,

a sentence we all serve as that of Brahma within

seeks to burn off impurities

and reach toward clarity,

my soul wants to learn, to improve myself,

an artificial natural selection that works 

to help our species be worth our time,

I despair when others lose their way

and choose money and sensory gratification as their values,

I want the world to be better because I lived,

not indifferent that I am gone.

by Henry H. Walker

July 6, ‘19