(Based on Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters)

Not consumed by a dragon,
Nor saving a maiden from an enchanted tower,
Nor saving a kitten amidst a fiery house,
Nor bitten by a shark, nor snake, nor dog.
Not parachuting, nor motor biking,
Nor choking on the words “I love you too.”

Instead I was lying in a lousy old bed,
Wrinkled and senile,
Surrounded by family
Who care more for the contents of my will
Than the contents of my heart.

Not triumphant,
Nor striking,
My exit will be remembered by none but you.