Oliver Sacks is going to die,
He tells us blithely in the New York Times.
He’s 81. His liver’s shot.
He’s blind in one eye
Though when both worked fine
He could still get lost in a parking lot.
He’s extremely famous and terribly shy.
He’s lost his leg but it's still attached.
He’s been practicing dying, Oliver Sacks.
He will do it well,
Politely evading heaven and hell.
Doctor Oliver Sacks, farewell.
Grade levels
Grades 7-9 / Sec. 1-3
Bibliographical info
Sarah Tolmie, "39" from The Art of Dying. Copyright © 2018 by Sarah Tolmie. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Source: The Art of Dying (McGill–Queen's University Press, 2018)