a good german house/estate sale

did death creep in quietly
or did you just
wake up one morning
and surrender.
to dust, mildew,
and decay?

I hope you struggled
against the shroud,
with the same
enthusiasm for life
that made you buy a
chandelier
three times too big
for the dinning room and
40 cases of Cuban rum.

in the end,
I hope you chose life
even on nursing home truce-terms,
crazy, angry, alive,
aware of the price you paid

a free soul,your birthright
green to the end
in communion with
God and humanity
not stillborn into eternity
wrapped
in a precious chrysalis
of possessions
alone
on a cold
grey
January day.