A (quiet) little note, I avidly write verse. It's actually one of the forms of writing I like best, free and open-heartedly expressive, tapping into the nuances and deepest truths of the soul. And because I had a patient who was anguished with nightmares thinking he might not make to heaven when he passed, I wrote this poem for him, feeling his pain. He was a gentle, brave, and intellectual individual who loved poetry and readily recited Tennyson's masterpiece of dying, "Crossing the Bar."
It's not uncommon for a patient to do a life review before she or he passes. And truly, if each of us is able to do so, even now in glimpses when we are still well, it can make us better people. We are here for growth and evolution of the soul before we pass, and seeing and reframing our lives in literary terms, interpreting the novel (or poem) of the ups and downs of our lives, can give us great insight as to the dominant themes of our edification.
Thinking of my patient...
Good
You may question how you’ve been
If what you did was good,
Or good enough or without sin,
Or did you when you could?
Why was this life yours to live,
And did you do your best
In giving all you could to give
In making things more blessed
You may fear you’ve fallen short
Of what you did intend
And it’s too late to now purport
A false means to an end
Here you are prepared to pass
But frightened at your worth
The hell of such a thick morass
So far beyond your birth
This should be a time for peace
For joyful resolution
This should be when you are free
In blissful absolution
And so it is; and so it is!
You’ve nothing you should fear
Who you were and what you’ve lived
Were perfect while here
