Philip Roth Just Died Poem by Shalom Freedman

Philip Roth just died
Every writer I have most admired
Most loved most cared about
Most wanted to be like
Most envied
Most wanted to be read and praised by
Is dead
Now I am left alone
Wholly unknown
Nowhere near them in the value of anything I have done
Just another reader and old man soon gone
I miss these writers so much
Who I never knew personally
I wish they were still here
But they are not
Life is not necessarily the happiest thing in the world
And time is not just about growing up
How sad it all is
How emptier it now seems
What a writer Roth was
The funniest who ever lived
And one who gave me such great enjoyment
I thank G-d for him
Even though he hated God while not believing in Him.