murder is ok

murder is ok
with elderly
already on their way

murder is ok
when alzheimers
steals the day

murder is ok
when morphine
paves the way

murder is ok
once hospice
has its say

murder is ok
when healthcare
goes astray

murder is ok
but there remains
hell to pay

written in memory of Grandma Charlotte, who passed away at 102 years old, 11 months, when her healthcare providers, rather than her God, decided that she was done with this world.   

no doubt, Charlotte was ready to move on from this world and head toward Home, but do any of us, including our increasingly dysfunctional healthcare system, have the right to determine precisely when?

or should we instead leave it to natural timing and natural rhythms that are designed to bring about death when the dying are precisely ready?

should we wait patiently or act palliatively?

why not both?