I ran into Tammy Alderman today.
She asked me, “Do you know
Jerry West died last month of a heart attack? ”
I told her, “No, I didn’t know.”
She then asked, “Do you know
Paul Graff died a year ago
With a brain tumor? ”
I said, “No way! Not Paul!
He was a complete sweetheart,
I knew him from kindergarten!
I’ll think about him now
For the rest of the night! ”

From my teens on,
I’ve gazed at death
With lustful eyes,
But my grade school
And high school pals
Have perished instead!

Like Allen Ginsberg wrote
In a poem from the1970’s,
“I never learned to die.”

From the Master’s poem: Ode to Failure

Uriah Hamilton

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-ll-learn-one-day-what-they-know/