The
Dash
By
Linda Ellis
I
read of a man who stood to speak
At
the funeral of a friend.
He
referred to the dates on her tombstone
From
the beginning to the end.
He
noted that first came the date of her birth
And
spoke of the following date with tears,
But
he said what mattered most of all
Was
the dash between those years.
For
that dash represents all the time
That
she spent alive on earth
And
now only those who loved her
Know
what that little line is worth.
For
it matters not, how much we own,
The
cars, the house, the cash,
What
matters is how we live and love
And
how we spend our dash.
So
think about this long and hard;
Are
there things you’d like to change?
For
you never know how much time is left
That
can still be rearranged.
If
we could just slow down enough
To
consider what’s true and real
And
always try to understand
The
way other people feel.
And
be less quick to anger
And
show appreciation more
And
love the people in our lives
Like
we’ve never loved before.
If
we treat each other with respect
And
more often wear a smile,
Remembering
that this special dash
Might
only last a little while.
So
when your eulogy is being read
With
your life’s actions to rehash
Would
you be proud of the things they say
About
how you spent your dash?
