Member Poem

Did you ever want to unburden yourself to the dying
To take them into your confidence
As though your presence were mere
Coincidence, as though you hadn’t
Sought them out, hung up on the
Thought that maybe their position 
So much closer to Heaven or Hell than before
Could provide a deathbed confessional?
A purgatory before they reach death’s door
Listening, muted, to the tumble of your sins
I wonder, if you tried it, could they take it in?
Would the salient facts translate in spite
Of the weight and priority of their final days
Would their mere hearing grant you absolution;
Their distraction allowing you a quick fix
To get your soul saved?
Do you think they’d mind?
Maybe everyone does this –
Maybe it’s expected, that in their decline
They become a repository for the tales of people’s wrongs
Something for them to bring to mind,
To God, or wherever their soul’s gone
When it finally goes.
Or is it just taking advantage
What do you suppose, and can you imagine
If they not only heard but listened:
Went to their maker
Carrying judgement about the things you’d done,
Suggested punishment, vengeance, determination
Not to let you think you’d won
By seeking them out for your own relief,
Would you then be the author of your future grief?
Or would they scatter your sins across the atmosphere
And with their final breath,
Their silent solution,
You’d be in the clear.