Deathbed

A poem for The Halls of Pandemonium Day 11

Image: Curated Lifestyle via Unsplash+

This is my entry for Day 11’s Halls of Pandemonium Prompt, which asked for a story or poem inspired by a musical track. My track is “Deathbed” by Tophouse. Check out the full song at the end.

And as always, please enjoy…

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I always thought I’d see it coming.
That I’d be at home.
Not in some hospital 
with nowhere left to roam. 

I thought there would be a warning. 
Some kind of sign.
But death just showed up
with my name on the dotted line. 

I realized too late 
That none of it matters.
Money comes and goes,
but one day it all shatters. 

I wanted my life to mean something. 
To change the world for the better.
Inspire others all around me
with every sentence, and every letter. 

If I could look back on it all
and see that I did some good
maybe I’d be at peace,
my purpose understood. 

But I ran out of time,
lying in my deathbed,
worried about the details.
Obsessed with the dread. 

Death asks if I have any regrets.
I tell him just one: 
I wish I had let go of worry.
Before it was all said and done. 

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Thanks for Reading! Here’s the Song that Inspired The Poem