Archive for the ‘Organ Donation’ Category
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
So Hope Will Live (Part IV of IV)
Today we conclude So Hope Will Live. This is Part IV.
Boston College has a motto: “Ever to Excel.” It is adopted from Homer’s Iliad.
It is a great motto for a great university and for all of us,
because it encapsulates a pursuit that all of us should undertake.
Steve Jobs pursued excellence and his legacy will long remain so long as others do the same. And he was allowed to continue his pursuit of excellence even after a devastating diagnosis because of the intelligence and talents of medical professionals, and because of the generous gift of life from an organ donor.
As I said earlier, this poem was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it might express his sense of gratitude to his donor. We do know that while he was alive, he did thank his donor. This poem is written from the perspective of a recipient to his or her donor and family. Two families are now bonded in a way like no other.
Strangers are indeed now a family.
Donate Life. Your Life Will Go on Living.
So Hope Will Live Part IV of IV
Know that I am grateful
for the life you gave to me.
May my life give you light
wherever you might be.
And may my life bring comfort
from the pain that hurts you so;
we are strangers now a family,
wherever we may go.
And may the life that lives in me
shine a light so all can see
that life goes on, ironically,
when we choose to donate life,
so hope will live, eternally.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All rights reserved.
P.S. I have not yet read Walter Isaacson’s book entitled, simply, Steve Jobs, but I intend to.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", Donors of life, inspiration, legacies, love, organ donation, picture poems, poetry to honor deceased person, poetry to honor organ donor, So Hope Will Live, Thank you to organ donor and family
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation | No Comments »
Friday, October 14th, 2011
The tributes to this remarkable man continue all over the internet. The following poem was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it might reflect the gratitude he felt for his donor.
Below you will see Part III of “So Hope Will Live.”
Donate Life! Be an organ donor.
So Hope Will Live (Part III of IV)
Your gift has given life to me –
a gift of love, born of pain –
joined by science, joined by fate -
a bond that bridges life and death –
a bond of love; a bond of pain -
a sad and strange irony –
a gift of life now given me,
and strangers now a family,
burdens borne with different names.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All Rights Reserved.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", "the power of words", gift, gifts, Health, heirlooms, inspiration, organ donation, picture poems, poems, poetry, poetry to honor deceased person
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation | No Comments »
Monday, October 10th, 2011
This is Part II of a poem called “So Hope Will Live,” which was written last year. It was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it is a poem written from the perspective of an organ recipient who is alive because of someone else’s gift. Donate Life: Your life will go on living. www.donatelife.org.
Part II of “So Hope Will Live:”
A part of you now lives in me
and we are joined like family –
not in blood and not in name,
different, yes, but yet the same –
joined in cause and common voice –
knowing that there is a choice
to donate life to someone else
so they may live their life again.
May each life be for all
a light ahead in driving rain.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All rights reserved.
Also, give to JDRF. For the children.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", Commemoration, extraordinary, gift, gifts, Health, heirlooms, legacies, memorial poetry, picture poems, poems, poetry, Steve Jobs
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation, Updates | No Comments »
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Far too young.
Steve Jobs lost his battle with pancreatic cancer this week.
But remember that without a donated liver, he would likely have lost his battle several years ago.
The world lost one of its best a couple of days ago. Lost in the outpouring of accolades for a genius committed to excellence is the fact that he outlived his life expectancy. He was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer years ago, but most who have heard that diagnosis have only months to live. How did Steve Jobs survive so long? In part because he received a liver from an organ donor a couple of years ago. He thanked his donor in one of his speeches, and acknowledged that he was alive because of that generous gift. I did a poem last year entitled “So Hope Will Live,” written from the perspective of a recipient and serving as a “thank you” to organ donors and their families. The poem was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it might express his sentiments. Here is Part I of that poem:
So Hope Will Live (Part I)
We are strangers now a family,
forever joined – not by choice –
but joined by need and joined by pain:
different lives, but common voice –
a cry for love, a cry for life,
so hope will live, eternally,
born of saddest irony.
Life will never be the same –
not for you and not for me:
One you love – who shares your name –
now is gone, but I remain:
a second chance, a new domain –
a gift of life, that lives in me;
we are strangers now a family.
Copyright 20010-2011 All rights reserved. Daniel Mark Extrom.
Be an organ donor: www.donatelife.org.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", gift, gifts, organ donation, organ recipient, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry, Steve Jobs
Posted in Health, News, Organ Donation | No Comments »
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Donate Life!
This poem is a bit late as it is now April 21, 2011. But it’s not too late to be an organ donor. Let your family know your wishes. Go to www.DonateLife.org. Sign up. Your life will go on living, even when you’re gone. There is no greater gift.
The Legacy
A dedication from a donor to his or her own family
and to the recipient
I loved my life and had great plans
for dreams I would pursue.
I loved to learn and loved to work –
so much for me to do.
But plans and dreams – it always seems -
are subject to delay,
for life can bring surprises
that take us from our way.
(more…)
Tags: "a gift of life", "donate life", "gift of life", "It's the life thing to do.", "Legacy donate life". "organ donors", "my greatest legacy", "organ donor", "organ transplant", "The Legacy", "the life thing to do", donate, inspiration, organ donation, picture poems, poems, poetry
Posted in Family-Children, Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation | 2 Comments »