Advice to Passengers (John Gallaher & G. C. Waldrep)

Advice to Passengers by John Gallaher & G. C. Waldrep.

From the title, you at first think that the people are on an airplane, perhaps a boat or maybe a train, but then as you read you get the sense that these passengers have died and that they are transitioning.

I simply love the last couplet: "Don't forget to thank them / for their time." Wow. It's such a grand thought - encapsulates all of life and gives a small hope that when you have died at least someone may thank you for your life. It's really very good advice.

I am puzzled how this poem has two authors. What were their roles? Did different people write different stanzas? Did one have the idea and the other the words? I just don't see how a poetic collaboration like this would work. A poem's shared byline - I've never seen that before.

Favorite line: "Don't forget to thank them / for their time."