The Obituary E-mail
Written by Diane Payne   

He cared deeply about life
the obituary stated
and friends questioned the writer
why that was said
since the dead had committed suicide.

The writer defended her words by claiming the dead cared
so deeply about life that he found his to be unbearable
haunted by a beast
that left him immobilized in bed
unable to sleep
dreading the possibility of mutilating others
or being mutilated by another.

He cared deeply about life
and wished his depression would disappear
but it didn’t
she explained
never admitting that those words
were written with hopes of eliminating her guilt
for not ending her friend’s misery.

He ended his own misery
and she continues on
the martyr
proclaiming to others
that her friend cared deeply for life,
failing to admit
he may have cared more deeply for death.

About the author: Diane lives in rural Arkansas with her nine-year-old daughter and two dogs. She teaches writing at the University of Arkansas-Monticello. Diane has a memoir coming out from Red Hen Press. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Copyright © 2001 by Diane Payne. All rights reserved.

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