I sat propped up in my hard, unforgiving hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to tell me how bad it really was. They had run every test in the book on me, but we still didn’t know what was wrong. The suspense was killing me – no pun intended.

Finally, the doctor arrived in his sterile white lab coat. I asked him what he knew but he didn’t answer. He just looked at me, and his eyes said it all. I felt like I was falling, and the silence in the room was deafening. After what seemed an eternity, I asked him, how long do I have?

He told me, you have 24 hours to tie up my loose ends, to make amends. I was stunned. My head was spinning. I just wanted to run and run and run. Everyone always told me to slow down, to not wish my life away. Now I can’t believe how I’ve been wasting my time.

In 24 hours they’ll be laying flowers on my life, it’s over tonight. I ain’t messing, I need your blessing, and your promise to live free, please do it for me.

I wondered if I believed in a heaven or a hell, of if I’d ever come back. Everything that was important to me, though I had never realized it before, was suddenly as clear as crystal. All of the places I’d been, the people I’d seen, and all of my plans seemed unimportant and started to fade.

In the evening hours, with the sun setting in a splash of gold, I thought of the future. I had always assumed that I would grow old, but the fates had conspired against me. Now I can’t believe how I’ve been wasting my time.

In 18 hours they’ll be laying flowers on my life, it’s over tonight. I ain’t messing, I need your blessing, and your promise to live free, please do it for me.

In 13 hours they’ll be laying flowers on my life, it’s over tonight. I ain’t messing, I need your blessing, and your promise to live free, please do it for me.

As I lie here waiting to die, I am not alone. I sense it, I sense them all around me, waiting for me. All of the things I’ve said, I meant it. I meant it.

In just 8 hours they’ll be laying flowers on my life, it’s over tonight. I ain’t messing, I need your blessing, and your promise to live free, please do it for me.

Just 1 hour they’ll be laying flowers on my life, it’s over tonight. I ain’t messing, I need your blessing, and your promise to live free, please do it for me.