I Don't Want To Die Poem by James McLain

I don't want to die,
I want to feel what you feel.
What you see and feel the breeze
Upon my face and kiss those lips but she is gone.

What will happen when I die?
Time has flown concerning those whom
Were close to me.
I never liked beer or gin I knew not
How to drink nor sip.
But those six or seven long island ice teas would
Be enough to make me think.

Like Bukowski I compartmentalized that part of my
Brain so I could talk.
So I could think, so I could last all night
Into the morning light.

I don't want to die, I want to live, I want
To give you something back.
Leaving it behind in case I go to that
Place I was before.

I've been left behind by Sara and Sharon
And Sylvia.
No interest in the men I should have had
I've read them but mine they've never read because their dead.
When I die I know one thing, that eternity will fly by
When I have died.