o god let me die
after bono
so that he will not deliver
a filmed tribute
upon my demise

he is older than me
(but not much)
and his people will attempt to keep him alive
for as long as possible
through means financial
medical
and spiritual
in order to maximise the time he has
for penning tributes
to the living
and the dead

o god let me die after bono
for I have seen his tributes
to the living
and to the dead
in countless documentaries and biopics:

presley
cash
bukowski
kerouac
lennon

all hailed by the man who wrote
a mole digging in a hole
digging up my soul
and
lemon
bob dylan
the dalai llama
the living beatles
shane mcgowan
seamus heaney
zig
zag
peter o’toole
the man from the paper shop down the road
who used to sell him cigarettes
chris de burgh

all walk a thin line
under threat of filmed tribute
and – although I am safe whilst still alive –
o god let me die after bono

o god let me die after bono
so when he dies I can witness his
pre-recorded tribute to himself
rendering all others
unnecessary

he will be in heaven
waiting at the table
of the great artists

lennon
kerouac
cash
presley
chris de burgh

humming the opening bars of vertigo
he will be lucky if he picks up
a good line or two
amongst the scraps
falling from their table

oh god let me die after bono
by Andy White  2011, from Stolen Moments.
Cecil and Quentin heard the author recite this poem recently and asked to be allowed to reproduce it here, and link to our recent post “The Misery Industry”