ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
I've been a firefighter in the South Bronx for the past fourteen years. I hold a M.S.Ed from L.I.U. and had worked with the handicapped before I became a firefighter. I've written mainly non-fiction articles for a number of local newspapers and small magazines and am currently working on completing a Narrative Non-Fiction manuscript tentatively titled "A View From the Backstep," as well as a fictionalized account entitled "A Thousand Days on Fire." [February 2000]
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (2) The Fourth Floor Landing (Short Stories) A young firefighter recounts how a pompous Captain finally got his wish. [6,364 words] You (Poetry) Free verse on a break up. [143 words]
Dying Lessons J. Michael Kearney
Dying Lessons
Are you ready to go?
Would you give up all you know
and all you�ll ever know?
We all die alone.
So, we should all wake to the thought,
"Today is a good day to die
but a better day to live,
for that is all there is."
When my Dad was dying
I stood at the foot of his bed
and said out loud,
"Everything I am and all I�ll ever be, I owe to you."
His eyes fluttered and opened.
I moved to his side.
He grabbed my arm and said,
"I could never hold a candle to you."
What a terrible lie!
Even now, it hurts my eyes to see it.
Here was the best man I�d ever known,
forged in discipline, cloaked in humility
and me the runt of the litter.
I felt so helpless
and so very far from goodness.
"I have to do this on my own." He�d said to us.
If there was fear,
he showed none.
If there was horror,
he never let on.
To the last, his focus was outward.
So the man who taught me how to live
also taught me how to die.
I just hope that I remember it all
when my time comes...
I wish that I could thank him,
but some lessons come too late
for things like that.
� 1999 J. Michael Kearney
READER'S REVIEWS (1) DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.
"It's never too late friend. I'm reminded of a piece I wrote for my grandfather and placed on his grave. Maybe I should have posted it; maybe I will now. I respect your honestness; it's the sort of thing I strive for in myown writing. You have a good style. It shows through here, and in "You". Keep going." -- A J Magy, Sfld, MI, US.
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