Last Day Alive
By Stephen Funk


I look out of the back doorway
looking into the dark.
It’s raining outside,
and I hear the soft patter on the leaves of the tree.
A Nickelback song is running through my head.
I begin to wonder if I’d be ready,
if I was informed that today was my last day,
to move on.
I think of all the things I wish to do,
and all that I’ve accomplished already.
Is anyone ever prepared for the possibility,
at any given time,
they could be taken from the ones they love.
Can they feel like they’ve let everyone know they love them?
Can anyone ever truly show how much they love someone?
I begin to wish I could show people my compassion for them.
I wish I could open my heart,
and show each person how much they mean to me.
How they help me,
how they help me to live.
I feel myself getting tired,
so I close the doors and lock the bolts,
and prepare myself for bed.