---
title: ▍The Dash
created: 2026-06-30
modified: 2026-06-30
authors: Linda Ellis
category: Poem
---

> I read of a man who stood to speak
>
> at the funeral of a friend.
>
> He referred to the dates on the tombstone
>
> from the beginning…to the end.
>
> He noted that first came the date of birth
>
> and spoke the following date with tears,
>
> but he said what mattered most of all
>
> was the dash between those years.
>
> For that dash represents all the time
>
> that they spent alive on earth.
>
> And now only those who loved them
>
> know what that little line is worth.
>
> For it matters not, how much we own,
>
> the cars…the house…the cash.
>
> What matters is how we live and love
>
> and how we spend our dash.
>
> So, think about this long and hard.
>
> Are there things you’d like to change?
>
> For you never know how much time is left
>
> that can still be rearranged.
>
> If we could just slow down enough
>
> to consider what’s true and real
>
> and always try to understand
>
> ?the way other people feel.
>
> And be less quick to anger
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> and show appreciation more
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> and love the people in our lives
>
> like we’ve never loved before.
>
> If we treat each other with respect
>
> and more often wear a smile,
>
> remembering that this special dash
>
> might only last a little while.
>
> ?So, when your eulogy is being read,
>
> with your life’s actions to rehash…
>
> would you be proud of the things they say
>
> about how you spent YOUR dash?