Not Dead Yet

Poem by Michelin Mason

I have lived to see another spring
To breathe in the blossom's perfumed air
To feel again the sun warming my skin
To wonder at the life we share

I have another chance to notice
Shining eyes meeting my own
Some with love, some with questions
The hope, fear, pain we have all shown

I can touch again those I care for
With my hands, my mind, my heart
They touch me as if for the first time
New thoughts, our dreams just start

Physical pain I have know plenty
Impairment holds little fear for me
But to feel unwanted, a burden, a weight
Is the intolerable pain I flee

The answer cannot lie in murder made easy
In fuelling guilt, complicitly and dread
It lies in the courage to create a kinder world
In which no one would choose to be dead

Happily, I am not dead yet
I have lived to see another spring
I will use every precious moment I have left
This welcome change to bring

Micheline Mason 2006