No Extraordinary Measures Please Poem by Shalom Freedman

NO EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES PLEASE

No extraordinary measures, Please-
No feeding tube no respirator-
Once the mind has gone south
Let the body die also-
I don't want to sit in a chair for twenty years drooling-
I don't want to give a vacant smile
That leads family members to have false hope-
I don't want to be a bother and an expense-

You can't just kill me
And I won't sign on to suicide-
And I should have ordinary medicines
And medical care
But don't push it-

I am just another human being
Who has lived on this earth
However you may love me-

I am sorry
I am causing you this grief-
And I am sorry you might miss me-

But what is important to me
Is that
You go on living your lives
In the best way possible-

What will become of me
And whether we will meet again
is our question
and God's answer-

Thank you for sharing my life with me
I love you-