When I Die

When I die

I would like

There to be

…At least one person

Who will shed a genuine tear for me

Who will miss me

Think the world a poorer place

For my passing

But still will celebrate

And cheer

Because I was there:

To put a smile on their face

To be silent while they ranted and raved

About something momentous

Yet insignificant in the end;

To listen while they talked

Of their dreams and wishes, and hopes and cares,

Of other people’s foibles, and of their careers;

Of big things and small, soon forgotten.

To laugh and sometimes merely smile

At their foresight, their notions, and their fears.

Come Sit In Barbados

When I die

I would like there to be

A genuine cry of “Oh no!!”

Not out of pity

But a wee bit of selfish agony

That I have gone;

And that for one split second of insanity

They will wonder “where will I be….

Without her?”

Already missing me and my strange company

Before quickly realising, with a quirky smirk

That,

knowing me, I’ll probably still be around

In thought or memory

To chide to admonish

to get angry;

or annoyed by some small imperfection

Perceived only by me

In my scrutiny of their life

As I see

That they can be so much more so much better …

‘Till I cave in and admit

They are perfect.

When I die

I want there to be

A place unfillable

In some small breast

‘Cause I am unique

And have lived…

A life so singular

That before that tear hits the ground

There’d be a peace

In the heart of that one person

That they have been blessed

By knowing me

And that unfillable place

Will be…

A place of love.

When I die

I would like

There to be

…someone who misses me.

George Beverly Shea sings the 1945 song “If I Can Help Somebody” originally done by Alma Irene Bazel Androzzo Thompson who died in 2001

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