Poetry: To die... (in honor of the VT shootings)

To die in a meadow or hospital bed
Or alone gently
With family and friends

To die smiling or asleep or in hope
Or having did sow
A heaven’s reap of reproach

To die with honor or justice in life
Or with mourning eyes
Watching blood spattered kites

To die in the wind or cold and the rain
Or in a ship or mountain
Gentle and sane

To die with trees under sun’s gazing eyes
Or under stars and gods
With a striking reprise

—all is for naught with the question at hand

Ask not, “how will I die?”
Read out loud, “How will I live?”