Author's Note About THE DASH

While it still amazes me, a simple poem I wrote one afternoon forever  changed my life. It all began when I sent a copy of this poem to a syndicated radio show in Atlanta. Soon after receiving it, the host of this popular  show read it on the air. Little did I know how much my life would change from that day forward. Titled The Dash, these thirty-six lines have touched  millions of lives and have taken on a life of their own by traveling all over the  world. I call it uncomplicated poetry in a complicated world. Today, I share  my inspirations from my website, LindaEllis.life. People are always asking me what, in particular, inspired me to write this poem. I believe it was a combination of things in my life at the time. It  was during a period when I was working for the top executives of a very large and successful corporation. It was a strict company with a tense  working environment. I began to watch how the priorities in many lives there had become misaligned. It seemed to me that the bosses were worrying far too much  about things that were inconsequential in the scope of life. 

 Also, resonating in the back of my mind were the words from a letter that had been previously routed around the office. It had been written by the wife of an employee who was aware that she was dying. I was so moved by that letter that I saved a copy of it and continue to live by her words:  

Regrets? I have a few. Too much worrying. I worried about finding the right husband and having children, being on time, being late, and so on. It didn’t matter. It all works out, and it would have worked out without the worries and the tears.  If I would have only known then what I know now. But I did, and so do you. We’re all going to die. Stop worrying and start loving and living.  Her words stuck with me. Her letter made me stop and think. This is it. This is all we get. 

I remember where I was when I first truly realized the significance of the piece that I had written. I was on a business trip in Minnesota, alone in a hotel room. I received an emotional email thanking me for sharing the message of The Dash from a student who had recently heard it as part of a memorial gathering for the Columbine High School students. I sat on the bed and cried. 

Several years later, I found myself engulfed in the thoughts and feelings   created by my own words as I listened to them read aloud for what seemed like the very first time at the funeral of my father...my best friend. I write this exactly one year from that day, and never have the words of the poem meant more to me. 

From being performed in an elementary school play somewhere in the heartland of America to being shared aloud with the President of the United States and distinguished guests, from being printed in bestselling novels to high school yearbooks, The Dash has truly affected millions. I may not be able to change the world with these words, but I have certainly been able to influence a portion of it! The poem’s words have convinced fathers to spend more time at home and have reunited long-lost loved ones. The words have changed attitudes and changed the direction of lives. They have, in their own way, made a difference. I know writing The Dash has changed my life. I hope reading it ,in some way, may change yours. 

Live Your Dash

Linda