One Last Day
By John Herlihy

Just one last day,
Just one, as they say,
One last glorious sunrise,
One last wild surprise,
One last loving kiss,
One last emotion to miss,
One last honest desire,
One last look at fire,
One last heavenly smell,
The beauty of the world to tell.

Just one last hour,
Just one, with power,
An hour like none other,
An hour to thank my mother,
To thank her for her love,
She received me from above,
An hour so as to make amends,
Wonder what the future portends,
An hour just to remember,
An hour just to forget.

Just one last moment,
Just one, f or atonement,
To surrender what I lost,
To remember paths crossed,
To relive what I did,
To accept what I hid,
To ask forgiveness of those,
I sought in life to oppose,
To bid the world good-bye,
To take my leave to die.

Just one last second,
Need no more, I reckon,
Time to just let go,
To reap what we sow,
Just fall into death’s sack,
No more need to look back,
I accomplished what I could,
I avoided what I should,
Now just let myself be taken,
So that soon I may awaken.