will you my friend

will you my friend
witness my burning pyre
when it's time for me
to make my last journey

alone i had come into this world
alone i will return into the unknown

will you strew the ashes
from my burnt pyre into
the holy waters of a river

will you my friend
think of one who was
an unknown who had come alone
and has gone on alone unknown

will you my friend keep me
in your thoughts
each morning in your prayers
each day in your daily chores
each night when your eyes you close

-by Rita Putatunda