I Live With My Own Dying Within Me Poem by Shalom Freedman

I LIVE WITH MY OWN DYING WITHIN ME

I live with my own dying within me
At this age most of us do
I do not want to die
But my body does not know how to answer me
I do not want this dying within me
I do not want the pain that comes with it
I do not want all the disability
I do not want my own dying within me
The body does not answer me
What I want is not relevant
What there is and what there will be
Is not what I wish or hope for
It is within me
I won't escape
I am here for now
But who knows for how long?