Days of Grace

I should preface this poem by explaining that this man, an extraordinary poet and no poet at all, died of Lou Gherig’s disease. It is a painfully debilitating, brutal disease that leaves nothing intact except one’s mind: it never affects the cognitive, emotional, or spiritual in us. Which, honestly, can seem like more of a curse than less. This is D.H. Bleything’s poem, given to the students of Death and Dying - a class that pairs medical students with patients who know they will be dying soon and volunteer to help doctors communicate the coming of death to patients well - students whom he would not live to meet. Though he never had a chance to meet with these students, he was able to pass on these perfect, perfect words.

Days of Grace

My days of grace played out quickly.

Not grace, but splinters driven into the skin.

My prayers have dried up.

I have lost my music.

Not music the husks of prayers.

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The sun must always set. For Randy Pausch, professor at Carnegie Mellon University and early pioneer of virtual reality, it is setting soon. Colleges and Universities across the nation have featured “Last Lecture” series, where professors are asked to give a lecture as if they knew it were to be their last lecture before they died. What would they say? What wisdom would they pass on to their students?

So, what I’d like to ask you to do today, most excellent students, is related to these things.

I would like you to begin working on a creative performance piece that will be due in class on Monday. I say “performance piece” even though I’m considering this a writing exercise, because I don’t want to limit you. You could do a lecture, you could do spoken word, but there’s a written component to it (whether it’s the script, the poem, etc.). I’d like you to work on your own for this one as it is a very personal piece of work.

The prompt is this:

You have only a limited time left to live. You are somehow able to leave a message behind, to pass on some final thoughts. What is your message?

Maybe you are working on the space shuttle and a deadly series of incoming solar flares is detected. You are able to send 3 minutes of video footage to earth before it hits.

Maybe control of a nuclear missile silo in Russia has been compromised, and one is headed towards Southern California. Maybe you are a part of the last stand, along with every other red Fruit Loop, against the continuing tyranny of the neighboring Cheerio nation. And, knowing the coming battle will be your last, set down some words on paper for your children to know their father by and, perhaps, to help them live a proud life.

It is creative in that you set the context of the scene. The why, and how, and how soon...As well as sending the message.

Here’s the rule - or the headfake, to use Randy’s language - no matter how silly, or how funny your context may be, the heart of your message must be earnest and sincere. If you really did know you were going to die, and you really did have a chance to say something meaningful to those you loved and offer some piece of advice… well, what would it be? So, whatever you decide to say, and however you decide to say it, be earnest at heart.