Devotional Poetry

In Extremis

In Estremis1

Play for me no funeral dirges;
Sing for me no songs of death;
I believe in life eternal;
Worlds beyond await my breath:
This is my last request.

My Love, when from this mortal frame I'm freed,
shed no tears for me,
In a better world I will await thee.

Friend, when I've passed beyond Earth's strife,
Don't expect me to return unto this plan of death,
I have joined the One who gives my soul its breath.

Brother, this earth-life is a school,
Through which we all must pass,
Death is our graduation into a higher class.

Sister, when I'ved passed beyond this life,
Into the unseen land,
In prayer I'll lend you a helping hand.

Mother, at my passing,
say a prayer for me,
And all the souls now free.

Father, at conception my soul begin a quest,
A journey that will take it
Beyond the door that we call death.

My Children, in this physical life
I've sought to help my fellowman
By sharing what I understand of God's plan.

Viewers of My Last Remains, I have but one request,
Remember me as I am in life,
This is all that one may ask.

Though I have a long journey before me,
Until my soul is free,
From this material plane
And its growing pains.
I know my physical death isn't the end of life
It's only the end of material strife.

Poet's Note: ▼

I'm not sure when I wrote this poem. The inspiration was the Baha'i concept of eternal life.

Footnotes
1  American meaning "at the point of death" https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/in-extremis.