The Last Laugh

[milo]

The Last Laugh

Make me laugh before I die
that I may wear a smile, though wry,
upon my death mask, and with luck,
(frankly, I never gave a fuck)
my few remaining friends will grin.
To laugh at death is not a sin;
indeed, the last breath should be fun
and bottled, as was Edison's.
How did they know which suck would send him
to his final, fateful ending?
Make no mistake when last I pull
on God's good air, one gasped lung full,
it's only to supply a laugh.
Please someone, take a photograph.
tectak
2013

Moment of death is a hard thing to predict. Maybe if you reran it often in your mind with a grin, your brain would do it at the right time. Or a loved one might be able to manipulate it, I don't know, I've never tried. If you're planning to lie around in a casket for a few days, I'm sure your request could be accommodated.

Supposedly asphyxiating with helium produces this effect. Also overdosing on NO. The whole poem seems to refer to one or the other. Just rename it NO Suicide.