Edward Thomas Downes
I dread the end.
I had a hard time.
I wondered how to end, how to die.
We went down to see a Swiss man who said he had a means to an end!
We are not so … we don’t want to do it … we don’t …
Oh dear, no more ideas!
We owed it to … a son.
He isn’t too dear or near now.
Where is he? Where is she?
Who wants, who needs to … sit and read to me? No one does!
We don’t want to end in a ward - or as wards!
He and she are not here to share in this hard end.
We don’t want to die.
There is no other idea. No other … !
We don’t want to end in a home, either!
It’s so sad, this.
Neither she nor I are wont to end in a home!
We are down! We are sad! We are morose!
We don’t see a means to end at this home!
We won’t die here! We won’t!
We’d sit and read to death!! What?! NO!
Is this what we want? NO!
And at times the weather is hard!
What are we to do then?!
Do, and eat, and shit, and die! This is it!
What more is there to do?
What there was to do … we done.
No one wants to die! We don’t!
We don’t want to die as wards.
I am same as dead, now!
I don’t see, I don’t hear, I don’t read!
We are not done, and we are done.
Sir Edward dies as a man who had done as his heart said to do.
He died as a man who dared to do as his heart said to do.
Men and women heard his sweet tones and notes.
What a wonder he was!
Now he is done.
Now we are done!
An end at last at Swiss hands.
Renown conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife, who were both in poor health, went to a clinic in Switzerland where they were assisted in committing suicide - or euthanized - on 10 July, 2009. They had a son and daughter.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 at 9:01 am and is filed under International, Music, Names.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.