If I should die, do not say this of me:
“She was so young, so much she could have done!”
What could have I done?
Was my life a failure because
I was young,
I did not marry,
I had no children?
I had dreams.
Weren’t they enough?
Do you need concrete proof
Of a life well-lived?
Or can I tell you that I was happy
And that will be enough?
Is that enough?
Could I have done so much more if I only had time?
Would I have seen my dreams take flight
Or would I have let them go?
Would I have made peace with their loss
Or let them fester, explode?
Is it better to have died young,
With dreams still within reach,
Than to live to see them slip away?
At least I still had my dreams.
Do not say my death is a waste of a life.
I did not waste my life.
I did what I could,
And dreamed the rest.
If I should die, say only this of me:
“She lived as well as she could,
And what a life!”
written December 29, 2020
Moriah Sharpe 