L Milton Hankins Poet Terzanelle

My Last Poem

I wonder will I know when I’ve written my last poem
Will I write that last line and punctuate it with a sigh
Or suddenly go without a line until I arrive at home?

Perhaps I’ll not write a last poem, at all, but simply fly
The body of my work standing unattended by sympathy
Will I write that last line and punctuate it with a sigh?

To leave without saying farewell seems lacking courtesy
Still I am convinced that my work tells my best stories
The body of my work standing unattended by sympathy.

Of all things, leaving this world is slightest of my worries
I shall merely say, I hope the same can be said for you
Still, I am convinced that my work tells my best stories.

After all, leaving this world is opportunity to begin anew
I wonder will I know when I’ve written my last poem?
I shall merely say, I hope the same can be said of you,
Or suddenly go without a line, until I arrive at home. 

written May 24, 2022

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Bill Baker May 25, 2022 at 7:54 AM A heartfelt poem on a subject many of us think on from time to time. Thanks for sharing in this fine Terzanelle, Milt. I can't imagine not writing another poem at this point in my life. That would be so sad to me, to think I had nothing more to share. Bless you and your poetry, my friend. Bill L Milton Hankins May 25, 2022 at 9:28 AM Thank you so very much, Bill. Your thoughts mean a lot to me. May you hundreds more to write!

Ann Foster May 25, 2022 at 7:01 AM Wonderful... to read, a delight to read again. Well done. Ann L Milton Hankins May 25, 2022 at 9:29 AM Thank you, Ann, for sharing your thoughts about my poem with me. I appreciate you. Which reminds me, I read something you wrote yesterday that was so nice. Not sure I commented. Sometimes I read but don't comment.

Deb M May 24, 2022 at 11:30 PM Oh Milton that’s really sad and beautifully penned…I hope to see L Milton Hanks on my screen for a long time to come!! Debx L Milton Hankins May 25, 2022 at 9:29 AM Thank you so much, Deb. I appreciate your saying that.

Shirley Hawkins May 24, 2022 at 7:41 PM I would like to have been able to write this poem, it conveys all that I think and feel about this stage of my life. Lovely poem, beautifully expressed. One I am sure many of us can relate to. Keep writing, Milt. Deb M May 24, 2022 at 11:32 PM And Shirley Hawkins my amazing Aussie friend! Debx L Milton Hankins May 24, 2022 at 7:43 PM Thanks so much, Shirley. I'm sure you are right. Many older poets must surely ask themselves this from time to time. It's always relevant.

Marco Chies May 24, 2022 at 7:02 PM I hope I never read your last poem, because the first thing I do, whenever I enter the soup, is read your poems... L Milton Hankins May 24, 2022 at 7:44 PM Aw, thanks so much, Marco. You have no idea what this type of a compliment does for me. I appreciate it so much, and I hope I will always give you my best.

Vijay Pandit May 24, 2022 at 3:10 PM So honest and heartfelt a poem, Milton--we all think some of that from time to time. Poignant, yet words of courage, true to life. Not easy to face thoughts of deaths--except for the truly enlightened. Best to you, Milton--you have a reservoir of poems in you. L Milton Hankins May 24, 2022 at 5:18 PM Thanks so much, Vijay. Yep, been writing for a long, long time. I love to see thoughts appear on the page. You write some fine poems, too, Vijay.

Jeff Kyser May 24, 2022 at 1:17 PM My mother was talking on the phone with a friend. The friend said she thought they got disconnected. They found Mom, in a chair, next to the phone, with a smile on her face. I'm thinking a better call came in :-) L Milton Hankins May 24, 2022 at 2:17 PM There you go! I had a friend whose mother called him and told him to come and have a cup of coffee with her. When he got there, she was sitting in her chair, her cup of coffee still hot on a table beside her. I guess she found someone better to have coffee with. This all, however, goes to show how we are not in charge of these things, and we can be here one second and gone the next. I hope it's that way with me. God only knows!

Caren Krutsinger May 24, 2022 at 1:00 PM I hope that you not only do not suspect it is your last poem, but you will create a new one on your way to the Pearly Gates! L Milton Hankins May 24, 2022 at 2:19 PM Oh, you can be sure I'll probably be rhyming, Caren. After all, I've been doing so all my life. See what Jeff and I wrote to each other.