Life Advice for the Living

As I lay on my deathbed, 

waiting for my spirit to fly away to the gates of heaven,

I send my words and thoughts for those living today;

The most important things you can learn, this old man will teach you.

Love is something to be grateful for each day, as I was.

Today, I will get to finally see my wife again after six years without her.

Always remember to spend much time with your partner

because life goes by very fast and it will take things away from you unexpectedly.

War is not a way to make peace.

All lives benefit when we encourage ourselves to not bring in hate.

But even if we cannot fix what made history bad before,

always understand you can make the present better and help improve the future.

Fame describes how people want much attention today.

If you do seek to have it, there will always be a price.

If you wish to join the stars,

always seek the way that will not swallow you into the dark edges of publicity.

Life & Death is something we all go through in order to be in this world.

We are born and we die old, but we do not die alone.

And even though some people die without spending much time on Earth,

always know that we will have the time to spend with them eternally as we fade, too.

Because once we are up in the heavens, 

we will always have the time to be around all our loved ones.

---

Richard Renaud

RICHARD RENAUD is a second-year student in the Professional Writing class at Algonquin College. He enjoys reading, watching TV/movies, walking, and spending time with family and friends. He is the author of the poem To My Future Grandchild which was submitted on the December 2019 issue of AC Times.