IN DEAD EARNEST

(Lee Hays, 1979)

If I should die before i wake,
All my bone and sinew take
Put me in the compost pile
To decompose me for a while
Worms, water, sun, will have their way,
Returning me to common clay
All that I am will feed the trees
And little fishies in the seas.
When radishes and corn you munch,
You may be having me for lunch
And then excrete me with a grin,
Chortling, "There goes Lee again."
'Twill be my happiest destiny
To die and live eternally.

The question may be, did Waddy Mitchell ever read Lee's poem and receive inspiration?

rich r