Ending Poem by Barry Middleton

If when I die I stop
to tally the score,
I pray that tears will cease
and memory's smile
and laughter
will soften the death rattle.

Recollection is fleeting
like the green flash
of a Florida sunset.
I want to waken
sunny days
and how the rain
brought wild flowers.

The greatest gift
an old man has
is afterthought.
If life rushes
before my eyes
as the sun sets,
let it flash the pleasures
I have known
like a manic slide show
of hot green summers.

If memory captures
life and death,
I will recall it all
when I am old
and live my life again
passing over loving sunsets,
smiling children,
and gentle moments
to die in the arms
of my mother
and death
will never be a deceit.