Pre-need

Maybe it started with funeral homes.
You pay for your plot, your casket
and service before you die,
pre-need.
Then you can rest in peace.

Over time, experts have hit upon
other pre’s
pre-cancer
pre-diabetes
pre-hypertension
pre-osteoporosis
Don’t we need to treat these?

The downside is you can’t be sure
you’ll move beyond
pre-
in the time you’ve got left
so the toll on your body and purse
may prove costly and futile

and knowing you’re
pre-
undermines peace of mind.
Can you live with your choice
if you choose to do nothing?

Funeral homes go under.
Tests and treatments
fall out of favor.
Consider, at least, living life
free of
pre-.

What you can’t
predict
prevent
or
prepare
for
you have the option to ignore
and, pushing neediness aside,
pass through the door
marked Uncertainty
the only door there is.

—Veneta Masson