A bridge collapsed
and some eighty people
were plunged to their deaths
in the turbulent waters below.

One of the bodies dredged up
during the grappling operations
was that of a man
still clutching a dollar bill,
a symbol
of all that man had yet to give,
all that he might have done
if time had not run out for him.

It should be
one of our nagging fears
that we may die that way;
with our riches yet unspent,
with our talents, our skills
untried and unused in the service
of God and neighbor.

We should not be caught short
but give
while there is still time to give.
Thus, when our day comes
to stand before God
we must appear before him
with empty hands,
with our opportunities for doing good
all exploited,
with our resources for making men happy
all depleted.

Another way of saying, perhaps,
that our Christian pilgrimage
must be one grand spending spree.