442
just this once death bites its tongue

441
death has the last word christmas day

440
if I must die

then I want to fall

into the sky 

439
poetry reading
showing up unannounced
death

438

inside the rose

brailling my way

to that last breath

437
November sun
I've signed up for the pre-death
butterfly dance lesson

    ~ after Santoka

436
nearing 59
I leave the cemetery gate
ajar

435
where we're going
that woman with the shy bladder
won't need a restroom

434
wanderlust  death's lure for the soul?

433
eating lunch
on an ordinary Sunday
I think of dying

Even cowards become heroes, as facing death is the ultimate act of courage.

432
just another Sunday
while eating lunch
I think about dying

431
breathless death takes notice

430
death temporarily laid off too

429
on a short break
death stops
to skip stones with me

428
death breaks up
another marriage:
heaven and hell

427
I decline the invitation
to a party in my honor
hosted by GR*

* the Grim Reaper

426
another long line
why is death always
picking on me

425
between death and square one me

424
autumn
reflections
death
has
the
advantage

423
sitting down to write
death starts
to pick my brain

422
365th poem
I still don't feel
ready to go

421
rock steady
out of
this world

420
writing a death poem
the strong smell
of burning moth

the pungent smell
of burning moth
enters a death poem

419
she wants to know
where butterflies go
to die

418
deathbed breathing
his hands don't
move at all

~ after Gary Hotham

417
ending my days lilac

416
death poem book
the ones that didn't
make it

415
close to me
close to you
death

414
when the moment comes
all we have to do
is return to silence

413
July 4th
give me death,
give me liberty

~ after Patrick Henry

412
cashing in
on all the time he saved
one long last breath

411
death sits down to read too

410
11 o'clock
the visitor hasn't come
I go to sleep

409
resurrection sky
the way it looks
from six feet under

408
departing between
blue sky and birdsong
not a trace

departing between
blue sky and birdsong
I become a cloud

departing between
blue sky and birdsong
not here, not now

departing between
blue sky and birdsong
I turn inside out

departing between
blue sky and birdsong
a feather floats away

407
remember
over
my
dead
body

406
death. . .
I used to care
but things have changed

~ after Bob Dylan

406
stop
in the name of love
or death

405
death. . .
will now take
your questions

404
dust to dust
and no longer
needing to

403
nothing to lose
I ferry across the river of dreams
and disappear

402
there's one way out
the teen with thick mascara
says:  die

401
I want to depart
right through the center
of birdsong

400
clip clok clip clop
I think I know
who's coming

399
death poem
putting it down
gently

398
just like that
I close my eyes
and dissolve

397
my niece wants to know
where to return
the gift of life

396
faster
than a speeding bullet
the grim reaper

395
called home
by a crow
with one eye

394
morning headache--
all that remains
of my death dream

393
uncooked tofu
dad never asked me
where I want to be buried

    ~ after Fay Aoyagi

392
at the end
her small hand
in mine

391
not yet
on the calendar
my leave-taking

390
my death, your death
the same river
runs through it

389
the porch light goes out
and so will i

388
waiting to be
called home
some pigeons
& me

387
whispering
I invite the ladybug
to my funeral

386
false moon
showing up in my head
to my own funeral

385
drainpipe drip
fewer days remain
than I've lived

384
whether I live
or die
scudding clouds

383
grand canyon
I already know
I'm on shaky ground

382
glancing at
green lights clear to
the end of the road

381
om
could be part of
my last poem

380
when I die
I don't want
any leftovers

379
with each passing day
forever no longer seems
so far off

378
numbered. . .
every grain of sand
and all my exhales

377
new shoes
the kind you could find
in a coffin

376
sun and moon
for us too
no beginning, no end

375
that knowing silence
between the winter fly
and me

374
yes, we die
but the fragrance
doesn't

373
New Year's Day
oh, to be carried again. . .
by casket

Happy New Year (2012) to one and all!

Best wishes,

Robert