at the end

things you won't
say
on your death bed:
I wish
I had worked longer
hours, weekends
too. i wish i
had watched
more t.v., read
more books like
the da vinci code
and james joyce.
I wish that I had
eaten more hummus
and carob. drank
more soy milk.
I wish
that i'd joined
the army
and fought in a
war or been a cop
on the beat giving
out wood shampoos.
I wished I had
seven children,
and three wives,
two being quite
enough. I wish i'd
seen the norh pole,
or been inside
a salt mine, or
lived with nine
other people in
an igloo.
I wish I had become
a used car
salesman, or a circus
clown or a greeter
in a store. I wish
I had been anyone else
but me.