How I’d Rather Die

In the following order:

Dragged to the bottom of the ocean by a giant squid-

            Like that scene in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

            Kirk Douglass with a harpoon, striped shirt,

            But I don’t win the fight

            And I’m too deep to float back up

            Lost to the depths

            While the storms rage above

Shot by a firing squad in Mexico by Santa Anna’s soldiers-

            Cigarette in mouth

            Blind Folded

            Executed because some officer’s wife

            Had fallen in love with me,

            A prisoner of war

Old age-

            Only if necessary

            Only if there is no other way

            Only if nothing more exciting happens first

            Only if the bears of the forest aren’t hungry

            Only if the wildcats don’t want me

            Only if all the volcanoes are dormant

            Only if all the meteors and lightning bolts miss me

            Only if my great-grandchildren

                                    Want to hear my stories

                                    Until that final day