Keep Me In Mischief For Eternity 4.24.2008 Poem by Margaret Alice

People push so hard against death
few really live - I don’t want to get
caught in that trap, I want to swim in
the seething sea for hours on end

I want to ride a fast motorbike all the
time without fearing for my life; I want
to climb the highest tree and ride my
new bicycle rapidly with fearless glee

I want to go jaywalking and dodge
speeding taxi’s and the like; I want
to jump from a plane ecstatically
and feel completely free

I want to live without pills and pains
in my joints; I want euthanasia before
the day when, powerless with age, I have
to lie down and give in helplessly

Not for me the era of waiting for
death’s inevitable claim – I want
to meet old Nic face to face, greeting
him with an impish smile on my lips

And a challenge in my stance; How
are you my friend, I’d say, do
you have something to keep me in
mischief - for an eternity?