May I Soon Rest in Peace

May I Soon Rest in Peace

Pardonne-moi, Death, kindly open the gate
for the luster of youth has grown tarnished and dim.
At the steps to your kingdom, some may hesitate,
but my quest for your portal is no idle whim.

In the shadow of glories diminished yet vast,
there’s a glimmer of pride, but some lines have been crossed.
Though my business acumen may be unsurpassed,
it is hard to deny it has come at great cost.

My heart it is heavy with sorrow and shame,
and my conscience grows weary and weighs on my soul.
I have prayed and done penance, accepted the blame,
now the time is upon me to pay my last toll.

I wait at the threshold of your mighty realm,
with my head bowed down low but my spirit at peace.
Though your ominous presence might some overwhelm,
I take comfort in hoping I’ll soon find release.


Written in anapestic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef ghgh. For students of poetry, note that the initial unstressed syllable is dropped on the first line of some stanzas to add weight to the idea and to break up the repetition a bit. This is a common technique in anapestic meter.