Upon reflecting on this prompt, I let my imagination run wild, and guess what I came up with?
Have you noticed that there are no bad epitaphs?
I mean, have you seen an epitaph where bad or cruel words were used to describe the life of the deceased?
Your answer is No, as is mine.
This suggests that, actually, even when one dies, their good deeds always outweigh the bad. If not, why don't the family, friends, or colleagues of a cruel person accurately describe how they lived their life?
I haven't seen or read many epitaphs, but the ones I have seen contain entirely positive words, even when I know the deceased didn't lead a pleasing life.
There was a time I attended the funeral of a politician who, when he was alive, was disliked by many due to his selfishness. As far as I know, people never liked him, and there were curses upon curses about how he neglected the people he ruled during his tenure.
Guess what?
On his grave, a nice description was given to him, and one that shocked me was when I saw, "a very caring father to his children and to his people."
I didn't think much about it then, until now as I'm writing this.
This brings me to another similar thought crossing my mind.
I'm not being negative or going against my country; for sure, I love my country. Not mincing words, our previous president led us to turmoil, and 95% of Nigerians felt it deeply, leading to deep-seated hatred.
If this man dies, nice, sweet, composed words will likely be inscribed on his grave, and it's possible to have something like "a good president to his country."
Oh! I just wish epitaphs reflected the way a person actually lived their life.
Anyways, it happens like that just because the people who usually be in charge of putting the epitaphs are the close family or friends of the deceased, which will be unfair to write bad about their dear one.
As for my own life, what would mine be?
Taking it from the few years I've lived on this earth, my epitaph will surely bring tears to someone's eyes at a glance.
I've lived a very trouble-free life; I don't like associating myself with troublesome scenes, and people know me for that.
So in my epitaph, something like "not a troublesome person but a peaceful one" must be featured.
Another thing that will be featured is my selfless lifestyle. I have the habit of putting others first before addressing my own issues. Although this is not always advisable, as many people take advantage of me, it's one thing that's ingrained in me and I can't shake it off.
So, my epitaph will go like this:
"Here lies a soul, peaceful and selfless,****
In life, his kindness knew no bounds,
Resting now in eternal serenity,
His legacy of love forever resounds.
Thank you!
This is my entry to #Aprilinleo prompt for day 6.
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