WHO LURKS BEHIND THAT FINAL DOOR?
CONTEMPLATING MORTALITY
What’s behind that final door?
Do I have the courage to open it?
Will I find a congenial St. Peter?
Or a menacing Satan ready to cuff me
and send me to the brimstone pit
without reading me the Miranda Act?
Or will there be a sorceress
with a ravishing smile sporting
a Miss Universe type sash with
OBLIVION printed across it?
I’m really not prepared
to leave this troubled World
where I’ve battled defiantly
over the past eighty-some years.
I still have unfinished symphonies
to complete before I open that portal
to Valhalla where Odin might honor
me with a glimmering diploma for
a lifetime of writing meaningful
prose and creating soulful art.
Narcissistic as it might sound,
as a writer and artist, I’m proud of
of my work. So I’m not ready to take
that final step. My favorite Woody
Allen quote just about sums up my
feelings: “I don’t want to achieve
mortality through my work. I want
to achieve it by not dying.”
When I’ve finished my memoir
and published my illustrated book
of essays and human interest stories
that took me a half century to create,
I’ll give ODIN a high-five and
welcome MISS OBLIVION with
open arms.
— Boots LeBaron —