the living and the dead

we’ve all made mistakes        I know I have      nothing I can’t live with         but nonetheless regret      it doesn’t pay to linger        I try not to invest too much time dwelling on the past        half my friends are dead        that’s how old I am          halfway dead        

I think about my friends       I think about them quite a bit        I should concern myself with the living and waste no prayers on the dead        the dead are beyond concern        which is more than I can say for myself