Lest I Die Before I Am Dead Poem by Alfred Barna

Let me reach out with my heart
And say now what must be said
Each man from this very earth must part
Birth betrothed to the very soil our bodies wed
Let me breathe in the springtime's fragrant dew
And feel the hot summer sands through bare toes
Listen as the fall winds blow the colorful leaves around you
And see crystal magnificence of the winter's snows
Lest I die before I am dead
Let me not grow too old to sense the wonder of life
Let me not grow numb from toil or from the strife
Lest I die before I am dead
The devil steals our souls little by little from worry
Forgetting all that's most important through all our hurry
Let us now in this gathering, raise a glass to toast
For all the fragile things we value above all and most
And say now what must be said
I love you all, not a day passes without you in heart and mind
Never within an eternity shall more precious friends I find
The food before us, the wine, and bread
Remember the now, for soon all goes quickly past
Remember the now, in our hearts good times last
Lest I die before I am dead