The Hop

The Dash(!) Poem from Jordan Dykstra on Vimeo.

The Dash
copy­right 1996 Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tomb­stone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the fol­low­ing date with tears,
but he said what mat­tered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash rep­re­sents all the time
that she spent alive on earth…
and now only those who loved her
know what that lit­tle line is worth.

For it mat­ters not, how much we own;
the cars.…the house…the cash.
What mat­ters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard…
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to con­sider what’s true and real,
and always try to under­stand
the way other peo­ple feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appre­ci­a­tion more
and love the peo­ple in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile…
remem­ber­ing that this spe­cial dash
might only last a lit­tle while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they
say about how you spend your dash?

http://lindaellis.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/the-dash.html

The Dash touches close to home, here in Oregon: