"If I die young,

Bury me in satin,

Lay me down on a,

Bed of roses."

He laid in a coffin lined with satin and filled with roses. He’d only been nineteen years old when it happened… To young to die. He’d survived countless dangers…Only to have his life taken by a simple gunshot wound.

"The sharp knife,

Of a short life."

His skin, which had once been warm and full of colour, was now cold and pale. He looked like he was asleep- No, he was too still to even be sleeping. 

Fate had been cruel to him. He didn’t deserve this. I wish I had listened to him. Now that he’s gone I feel his thoughts were worth more time than I ever gave them.

"A penny for my thoughts,

Oh no,

I'd sell them for a dollar."

Every thought was worth a penny- No to cheap, they were worth a dollar each.

"They're worth so much more,

After I'm a goner,"

It’s funny really, how even if I’d been his boyfriend, I never really knew him. Now that he’s gone, I realize just how important it was that I should've listened to him. Dawn began to break and they nailed the casket shut and loaded him onto a boat. He’d always liked sad songs. One in particular especially. He always sang it around the house. I remember the chorus clearly.

"If I die young,
Bury me in satin,
Lay me down on a,
Bed of roses,
Sink me in the river,
At dawn,
Send me away with the words of a love song."
I thought, since he had loved the song so much, maybe he’d like to be sent away like the woman in the song had been. So that’s how I arranged it.

"Sink me in the river,"

We couldn’t do it in a river, I hoped the ocean would be good enough. He had always wanted to go anyways. Damn! why didn’t I just listen? Why didn’t I just pay more attention to him?

"At dawn,"

Dawn began to break, and we took the boat about ten kilometres out onto the water before we stopped. We slid his coffin gently into the water where it floated only for a second before sinking into the water down into the depths of the ocean. Now for the last part.

"Send me away with the words of a love song."

*****************************************************
“If I die young,” I sang the line.
“Bury me in satin,
Lay me down,
On a
Bed of roses,
Sink me in the river,
At dawn
Send me away,
With the words of a love song.”

I finished the chorus and tears fell down my cheeks .
*****************************************************
Even though it’s now been five years since then, the wound still seems fresh and it’s painful to remember. Even if it is though, every year I go down to the shore and stand by the ocean at dawn. And every time I sing the chorus of his favourite song for him. Just like I did when I had said goodbye the first time.

"If I die young,

Bury me in satin,

Lay me down on a,

Bed of roses,

Sink me in the river,

At dawn,

Send me away with the words of a love song."