“Well... ...That's what you always forget, isn't it? I mean, you forget to pay attention to what's happening. And that's the same as not being here and now.”
—Aldous Huxley, Island
If this were the last time we met in this world
what would I wish I had said or done?
I know death is always somewhere in the neighborhood
for someone as old as I,
just as I know, no matter how much I might beg,
God would never forbid you might die.
There is no perfect word to speak,
no perfect deed to perform.
When after today I have left or am left,
if I am never to see you again,
then I just want to be fully here now,
to be fully awake while we may.
There will be time for sleep after today.
"Attention" by Ron Stone. © Ron Stone. Text presented here by poet submission. Art credit: "Sunset Stroll," photograph by Lynne Lancaster.
I once thought I was about to die. As my dear one drove me to an emergency room, I repeated over and over, "l love you." Now I say it every time we part, but this poem has reminded me being "fully present" when we are together is equally as important.
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