And when my days on earth are spent at last;
When this blue pearl and I are fin’lly done.
When all the years allotted me have passed,
Count not of me the races I have won.
Stack not the coins that I have left behind,
(For vaults and banks can’t truly measure wealth);
Nor count awards for me, if you are kind;
Nor days I spent in ill or pristine health.
Dwell not on my achievements, small or great;
Nor on the lovers that I may have woo’d;
Just remember that I bent but did not break;
That to my heart I always remained true.
That on my deathbed I may gently fall;
Even then, the very end, I still stood tall.
Image by: Zoro Mettini, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
