When He’s Gone (Nov 9 Prompt When He's Gone)

When he’s gone
his petty poems and
thinly veiled pleas
will cease cluttering
the internet.

Maybe nobody
will even know notice

he’s gone.

Just in case 

I’m leaving
detailed instructions
on how he wants 

his ceremony:

cremate him
and put his ashes
into helium filled balloons
and then
set them free,

so that they’ll
land or explode
completely at random.

Make sure you play
“The Secret O’ Life” by James Taylor
“(It’s Not Easy) Being Green” -
the Frank Sinatra version,

and for the closing
play the Charles Brown recording of
“I Don’t Want to Get Adjusted.”

He knows 

you will be 

too emotionally

busted up
to plan all this,
so he’s left all these notes
on his computer in a folder
labeled “Final Show.”

You’ll also find there
suggested anecdotes and insights

for his eulogy
and pictures 

he found especially

flattering
that can be used in a
slide show,
if desired.

Don’t mistake his
planning for 

morbid fascination,
or worse, narcissism:

he’s just trying
to help 

make things easier

one last time.