Tweed, thanks. First time I've heard him.

Seamus, I don't know that he thought he was leaving when he posted that poem. I don't have any idea if he got so sick all of a sudden or had been fighting it for a long time and just didn't want to deal with how folks would treat him. It seemed to me he was saying, in that message and that thread, just a little bit more than his opinion on "what happens when you die." He posted the poem without comment and when others discussed and argued, he let the poem stand on it's own.

The poem isn't primarily about what happens after death. It's the words of a dying man reassuring and comforting those left behind. So maybe he knew and maybe he hoped we'd find it again after he was gone. Maybe he didn't, but it's still a fine 'goodbye'.