by Bill Hurley
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David Bowie turned 69 recently.
I turned 69 recently.
18 months ago, David Bowie found cancer in his body.
18 months ago, I found cancer in my body.
Two days ago, David Bowie still had cancer.
Two days ago, I still had cancer.
Yesterday, David Bowie died.
Yesterday, I did not.
Instead, I woke up, ate some oatmeal, played the piano,
Went to a garden, photographed statues and banyan trees,
Sipped a latte while browsing through Dorothea Lange pictures,
Had lunch in a museum café, went to a jazz concert,
Then helped the sun set in a drumming circle on the beach.
Today, I woke up again and learned that David Bowie did not.
So what am I to do with this one more day?
And how many more will I be given
Before it’s my turn
To return
To Stardust?
Bill Hurley is a retired video/multimedia producer and former broadcaster. He is a frequent contributor to open mikes around Columbus, Ohio. His work has appeared in Common Threads, The Institute for Poetic Medicine, and he won the 2005 Thurber Treat award given by Thurber House for humor/parody writing. This year he is the humor juror for The Ohio Poetry Association’s Competition for high school poets. He recently was the featured reader at The Poetry Forum. He also is the MC for the annual Poetry at Perkins event at Ohio Wesleyan University. His collection, No Weeds in Wahkeena is available on Amazon.