The Words - Poem

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A contemplative poem about the language that shapes a life. In “The Words,” Greg Luti follows the things we are told, the things we say, and the words that remain when the rest of life is stripped away.

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There are many words you are told to remember in this life.

As soon as you are born, the world cannot wait for you to talk, only for them to tell you to shut up, and force certain words down your throat.

You will remember some of these words in your life.

I am sure that some of them will mean very much to you, and to who you are.

Perhaps some of them you say at your marriage, or at your graduation, or at other important life moments.

These words stay with you, whether you wish for them to or not.

For how else can we truly remember a moment if the words we uttered while there are lost?

I played that game too.

The game you play.

The game we all play with these words.

But then it hit me one day that the most important words you, or I, or anyone else, will ever have to know will never be discussed.

You have not been asked what you are to say to the Creator when your time is done on this earth.

When you are done living, the life you have is over, and you are to be taken away to the other world, the spiritual world.

Do you know what you are to say to the Creator when you meet him?

If you are like most, you have not thought much about this very situation, for we are a people so caught up with life, we forget about the very one who gave it to us.

So I ask you, what would you say to God when the time comes?

Do you ask for forgiveness for all the sins you have committed in life?

Do you plead with him to give you another chance at redemption?

What do you say to the Lord when you meet him when you die?

I say that you would be wise to consider the option of the Lord being real, for the other option seems rather foolish.

If there is a God, you would surely want to speak with him after you die.

If there is no God, then believing in one doesn’t do you any harm.

For what good does it do your spirit if you reject God all your life?

Should God be merciful to you then?

You reject him your entire life, so why should there be mercy to you in death?

When you die, there are no more secrets to be hidden.

No more lies that you can get away with.

No more of anything.

The light is brought forth, and that which was dark shall be shown too.

When that moment comes, will you be ready for it?

If you were to meet the Lord after you die, would you even know what you are to say to him?

If you have an answer to this question, then I suggest examining it, as you do other things.

Switch roles, and ask yourself if you would be okay if someone said the very words to you that you are to say to the Lord when you die.

If you have no answer to this question, then I suggest getting one.

You learn all that the world gives you while you live.

So many words.

So many lessons.

And yet when the time comes for you to speak to the Creator, you are speechless, as though you never had any time to consider the question.

I am here to tell you that you will die, and you better be prepared to speak to the Lord when that day comes.

Choose your words wisely on that fateful day, too.

For in this life, you are given many chances to recover and learn, but when you die, you don’t get another chance.

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