In the twilight of your years
When your end is near
Will you be full of cheers
Will you be in uncontrollable tears
Will you be in a horrid mess
Like a sad, sad state of affairs
Will you be eternally shattered
Like a colossal disaster
In the twilight of your years
When your end is near
Will you be an inspiration
To the succeeding generation
Just like an inspiring role model
Will you be a destructive distraction
Will you be a nuisance
In their presence
Will they gather around you
Will they scatter because of you
Will your frustration occasion desperation
In anticipation of the worst
In the twilight of your years
When your end is near
Will you look back with regret
Will you hasten the past to forget
Will you feel regret
Over anything you neglected
Will you feel regret
Over something you rejected
Will you regret yesterday
And wish tomorrow was another day
Another opportunity
In your old age
When your anatomy is in its worst stage
A pale shadow of its best state
Will you be a bundle of aches
And of pains
Will you be in plasters
Will you be a burden
Full of misery and poverty
Will you be alive and kicking
Or alive but shaking
Will you be confined in the theatre
Always connected to the catheter
And to the wheelchair
Will you pray for a quick passage to the grave
Just to save face
In your final days
When your end is inevitable
Can we still be proud descendants
As your progeny
As a generation to follow
Can we bask in the glory of your past
As our claim to fame
And not as ones bathed in endless shame
Can we stand on your shoulders
To see farther than far
Even from afar
Can our inherited names open doors
And leave them ajar
Can we look back to glorious years
And not to wasted moments
Can we still sign the inherited name with pride
In your final days
When the end is inevitable
Will you be a legend
Celebrated before your end
Will you matter
No matter your age
Will you matter
Before you exit the stage?