Will You Come To See Me? Poem by BASAB CHAUDHURI

Will you come to see me when I die?
I know I will die some day,
but the day is not known,
so I cannot invite you in advance.
Yet, if you get time, please come,
just to see me for a few minutes.
Please do not bring flowers,
allow them to be in the trees,
they look so fresh there
in company of the leaves.
What will you do when you stand before me?
Will you be sad that I cannot greet you?
All my warmth will go, I know -
Ice-cold, I will look very firm,
but I suppose I will look composed
in your company.
A dead man, laden with history, has no future.
Laden or burden - I am in doubt,
I ask you now as I am up on my legs,
and can still paint a picture of my death.

I am not a pessimist,
this is realism that I describe,
I invite you to come when I die
as death is the ultimate celebration of life that ever was,
and will never be afterwards.