Poem 1893 (Bob Canuel'S Last)

l saw 
lizard kings and leather
a red balloon sunrise
in the deep hours of black and blue and red
where straight razors
and regrets
honour only wounds
whose pleas for sutures
were never met
and who now grin back at me
from a grey face
with a dirty smile
and teeth in desperate need
of dentistry

I am dying

head up
back straight
knowing all the while
that the simplest thing
could take me

serenity, 
I now see,
is choosing
and then accepting consequences

I do not grieve

a long and good life
is what I’d hoped for
and what I got

mistakes were made
but the awe of living here
never diminished

not for a single second

and now I will leave this life
head high
and still in awe
of life itself

thank you