Colorful End-of-Life Event Planning
Nature dictates that, eventually, all living things must die and leave this earth. Some can only exit inconspicuously, while others have the potential to make a statement reflecting emblems of their existence. Like varied and vibrant leaves bursting with color when their life cycles end, human departures can be uniquely personalized and memorable.
As diverse creations, lives and leaves are recognized by their distinguishing characteristics. Each is defined in some way that renders individuality. Both have features that separate them from one another within their species. But at life’s end, it is the leaves that have been most apt to make an exquisite final impression.
Let us be more like leaves,
capturing the attention of observers.
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Let us inspire our life companions
through special funerary experiences
that will enrich them
with indelible recollections
of their associations with us.
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Let the concluding synopses
of our life stories
mirror our distinctions.
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Let our departures be bold and beautiful.
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Let us leave in splendor!
BEAUTEOUS AS A FALLEN LEAF
Fare thee well, some day I’ll say
When my moments on earth have withered away.
Let me depart in a blaze of glory,
Amid hallmark hues of my distinctive life story.
Forsake monotony and standardized drear,
Let variegation bring a measure of cheer.
I want not like a barren branch to be,
Weathered, yet unremarkable to see.
Rather, like a lovely leaf I shall fall,
Pronounced by vivid color as I drift from it all.
May others my brilliance at the end behold,
So remnants of my being will still unfold.
Though gone from roots and the family tree,
I’ll be forever embedded in memory.
~ Mary Ellen Markant ~
