The Proximity of Death

 

The proximity of death

                          startles us

           as if we didn’t know

                        it breaths

                                  between breaths

                    as if we didn’t know

                                        from one moment

                                                         to the next

                                             it could it could take us

                                       as if we didn’t know

                                                   its always

                                                            with us

 

        As sudden

               as a phone call

                             in the night

            As sudden

                       as a passing car

                                 aiming at someone else

                 As sudden

                     as a wind swept tree

                                 that falls

                                         without warning,

                       That sudden

 

And yet

    The proximity of death

                                  startles us

         as if we didn’t know

                         life could be so fragile,

           the incidental click

                   of thin stemmed glasses

                                     shattered in a toast

            The distracted moment

                            stepping off the curb

                The slight

                         shift in the ratio

                                      of velocity

                                             and friction

                        driving fast

                             along the black

                                                  sleek

                                                        face of it

That is all

          that separates us

                    And that is Nothing

                                          Nothing at all

               Not even a veil

 

There are days

          when the pain of life

                          overwhelms us

             and it is death’s

                            gentle hand

                                     that soothes us

         There are days

                   when rage and anguish

                                              over take us

                       and it is death alone

                                       that offers us

                                              peace

                                                   and silence

                  There are days

                             when indifference

                                            suffocates us

               and the one clear

                                act of passion

                                          that consumes us

                                                                 is death 

                       And in these moments

                                          it is death’s proximity

                                                                 that consoles us

 

Not further away

                        Than an outstretched hand

                   We all know this

                        yet we are startled

                                  when the soldier

                                                next to us falls

            When the child

                         slips beneath

                                   the thin ice

                                         that a moment ago

                                                      we walked on

                        When on friend

                                       survives cancer

                                                and another does not

 

We all know this

and still deny

That the proximity of death

is closer than our shadow

 closer than a lover’s breath

closer than the damp night air

closer every day we live

 closer than we dare admit,

 coming closer and closer

like a dear old friend.