Sometimes I look at the obituaries
it grounds me in my mortality
so many people die daily in them
most unknown to the wider world
like a woman who had been a secretary
then became a stay-at-home mother
a woman of strength, kindness and compassion
who often put the needs of others before her own
now she’s gone forever from this world and
no doubt many tears have fallen for her
It saddens me when by their deaths I see how
they were temporary in this impermanent life
and I often wonder where we go when we leave
this world aside from the claims and beliefs
I look forward to finding out firsthand one day
to see if my belief about it is true
if there really is a life after this fleeting one
that is if dead is more than just dead with no
awareness that you have died or ever lived
Bob Boyd