If You Had Not Died Today — Writings Of A Gentle Old Man

A Poem by Señor Tao

It’s all very strange. You can be walking along, not thinking of anything in particular. Suddenly you’re reminded of a lost love.

Charlie Brown ( Charles Schulz) (November 26, 1922 — February 12, 2000)

If you had not died when you did,
so many things could have been shared.
As it turns out I became a librarian.
I had some love affairs but
never fell deeply in love again.
I retired from the slavery of employment,
something you had already accomplished.
I lived alone in Fiji, had my own white sand beach
one hundred yards out the front door.
I saw more of the world, travelled to the cities of
Salzburg, Paris, Tallinn, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Places I would have loved to share with you.
Now I am in Ecuador, learning a new language
and customs in a world you would have relished.
A world I would gladly exchange to be sitting next
to you on a train to Phoenix or a flight to New York or
on the sofa in front of the fireplace just holding hands.
If you had not died today
we would have done those things together.
It is still so all confusing…
The only thing I know for sure, without a doubt, is
If you had not died today,
We would be alive together and in love, still.

🌹With love and in memory of Kathleen Sherrill (August 30, 1933 — June 29, 2003)

Originally published at https://gentleoldman.com on June 29, 2024.