Burn after Reading
Final Instructions
Surrendering the advantages of birthright,
all too often to those more deserving
but who would otherwise have been denied.
Resented by those still clinging to theirs.
Not belonging with those for whom they are surrendered.
Effecting a difference by not claiming one,
by fading from remembrance,
evanescing, praying it is not for naught.
~
Praying...?
~
In the beginning was the Word,
& the Word, once it was spoken,
became everything.
But once it was read,
became both more…,
…& less.
~
This calling
not to be called.
~
It's the little things pulling us back from the edge,*
as if the things which have drawn us so close
are not ultimately little things themselves.
For what are the things of past & present
but those which lure us forward,
even should they mean the end?
~
The end…?
~
If there was one thing
I would want tattooed
somewhere upon my being
it would simply be,
~
“Burn after reading.”
~
*This line inspired by Paul Stewart’s “It’s the Little Things” on Vocal Media.
About the Creator
Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock
Retired Ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church having served for a total of 30 years in Missouri, South Dakota & Kansas.
Born in Watertown, SD on 9/26/1959. Married to Sandra Jellison-Knock on 1/24/1986. One son, Keenan, deceased.


Comments (7)
Burn after reading has been said in a movie or a book or something. Still it is a classic saying. So should I burn you after reading this. Um, am unsure. sending the gasoline.
I absolutely love this so much, Brother! This would be an epic tattoo for me. This, and the one letting EMT's know I have a pace/fib installed lol
So does that mean we have to cremate you? Lol. Jokes aside, your poem is so beautiful!
-Burn after reading- Love it! It's almost like a self-destruct warning. Excellent entry!!! Full of the type of wisdom I fully embrace.
Reminds me of Socrates retelling the myth of Thoth’s invention of writing. Something ineffable is lost with the death of the oral tradition. Fascinating take, Randy!
Love this line. It's the little things pulling us back from the edge,*
Read it through twice. Call to action. Call to reflection. And a H/T to Brother Paul