On Death And Dying

[Will O'B]

I'm not scared of dying
and I don't really care,
if it' s peace you find in dying,
well then let the time be near.

If it's peace you find in dying,
well then dying time is near
just bundle up my coffin
'cause it's
cold way down there,
I hear that it's
cold way down there, yeah
crazy cold, way down there.
_________________________________

Will O'Ban

[missy]

Please don't bury me
Down in that cold cold ground
No, I'd druther have "em" cut me up
And pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don't mind the size

[Will O'B]

To die.

To expire.

To pass away.

To check out.

To go to the happy hunting ground.

To stare into the face of God.

To buy the farm.

To push up daisies.

To take a dirt nap.

To shake hands with Saint Peter.

To enter the pearly gates.

To shuffle off this mortal coil.

To discard your carcass.

To cash in your chips.

To bite the big one.

To croak.

To love, to laugh, nevermore.
__________________________________

Will O'Ban

[The Weekenders]

My kids would miss me, as well as the other Weekender. But I'm cool with the eventuality. I fear injury and pain way more than final release.

[Will O'B]

All my life's a circle;
Sunrise and sundown;
Moon rolls thru the nighttime;
Till the daybreak comes around.

All my life's a circle;
But I can't tell you why;
Season's spinning round again;
The years keep rollin' by.

It seems like I've been here before;
I can't remember when;
But I have this funny feeling;
That we'll all be together again.

No straight lines make up my life;
And all my roads have bends;
There's no clear-cut beginnings;
And so far no dead-ends.
___________________________________

Will O'Ban

[Bloomfield]

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

John Donne, 1572-1631

[Tyler]

[Will O'B]

To go to a better place.

To kick the bucket.

To go gently into that good night.

To give up the ghost.

To goose the devil.

To slip on the cosmic bannanna peel.

To go belly up.

To hang up your spurs.

To become one with the universe.
___________________________________________

Will O'Ban

[Father Emmet]

When I die don't bother me
just dig me a six foot hole
with a candle at my head and feet
and a jar of alcohol

[Bloomfield]

Upon the Death of Sir Albert Morton's Wife

HE first deceased; she for a little tried
To live without him, liked it not, and died


Sir Henry Wotton (1568–1639)

[jsluder]

If I should die before I wake
All my bone and sinew take
Put me in the compost pile
To decompose me for a while
Worms, water, sun will have their way
Returning me to common clay
All that I am will feed the trees
And little fishies in the seas
When radishes and corn you munch
You may be having me for lunch
And then excrete me with a grin
Chortling, "There goes Lee again!"

-- Lee Hays

[gonzo914]

I originally had a Lee Hays poem in this space, but jsluder beat me to the buzzer, so since I need a poem about death and since I still can't stand Thanatopsis, I'll go with this, another classic --

Now come on, mothers, throughout the land
Pack your sons off to Viet Nam.
Come on, fathers, don't hesitate.
Send your boys off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

For it's 1, 2, 3 -- What are we fightin' for?
Don't ask me; I don't give a damn.
Next stop is Viet Nam
And it's 5, 6, 7 -- Open up the pearly gates.
Well, there ain't no time to wonder why.
Whoopee, we all gonna die.

[jsluder]

How about a little something from Lee Hays?

So good it's worth saying twice!

[TomB]

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.



Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.



Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


Dylan Thomas



Tom

[avanutria]

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

When you see the sunset fair,
I am the scented evening air.
I am the joy of a task well done.
I am the glow of the setting sun.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!