My professional writing has sparked my muse, and I'm left to ponder the power of last words. A study from Mass General on marathon runners contained the nugget of history that Phidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce victory and in proclaiming it, died on the spot. His last words: “Rejoice, we conquer.”
My grandmother’s last words were, “I love you.” I received the words (thanks to Alexander Graham Bell) in a car at a drive-in. I relished the truth that Mamaw spoke her last words to me before going to bed, saying her prayers, and slipping into her final slumber.
My nephew slipped into a diabetic coma this month. When his friends and family gathered, many testified. He had been quite a catalyst in his short twenty-six years. He leaves behind songs and guitar melodies as his last words.
Today my friend Susan will stand before friends and family, giving her version of the last word on her father’s life. Unfortunately, he lost the capacity to speak due to a brain tumor, but he had proactively worked out a system of communication using blinks and hands. In his final days, Susan was a vigilant daughter at his bedside decoding messages.
Imagine that, though, trying to come to peace with the end of your life yet not being able to speak. Surely Susan’s father was a strong man in life and in death. And that he died quietly might be a testament to this man’s style in life. And perhaps our deeds should speak our last words for us.
In his case, news of one of his great deeds reached me after news of his death. When we were high school students, a friend in need received a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor that changed his life for the better in a lasting way. None of us had any idea who gave him the money. I recall the power and the mystery of the money scared me a bit and yet no harm was done.
Before he died, Susan’s father told her he was the donor. This quiet man’s deeds have outlived him. Last word.
I read in the Good Book someplace it says every word uttered will be accounted for/
What’s the last word? What’s the password? Anybody gonna say?/
But in heaven it’s the lion laying down with the lamb/
Yeah in heaven, all the dinosaur look in the face of an angel man.
-Victoria Williams “Last Word”
In memory of Michael Sheldon Griffin and Brenner Fillmore Eugenides
