I almost met death.
\nIt consumed my bones.
\nBeat them into a white powder.
\nLeft its hoofs in my brain,
\nscattered my fingers.
\nIt wanted nothing left of me.
\nNo relic,
\nno shard of hair,
\nit said, \u201cBe finished,
\nbe gone,
\nyou complain too much,
\nalways feeling,
\nworrying,
\ninstilling guilt in me.
\nYou are a dust mote,
\na crumbling grain
\nthe water will wash away,
\nthen I won\u2019t have to listen to you.<\/p>\n
What do I care that you love,
\nworship the sun,
\ndrink in the sky.
\nThe way of things is to be gone,
\nperish,
\nbe a dry leaf
\ncrumbled to nothing.\u201d
\nSo it was,
\ndeath was angry with me.
\nI spent too much time with him,
\npointing out his flaws,
\ncomplaining that nothing rises
\nthat wants to sink,
\nnothing sings
\nthat wants to be mute,
\nso I made a bargain.<\/p>\n
Death,
\nif you leave my cherished ones alone,
\nI will not complain.
\nI will go where you want me.
\nEven sing your praises
\nif you leave all beautiful things behind.
\nPerhaps we could play chess together,
\ntake time out,
\nget to be friends,
\nand when you want to be alone
\nyou can be rid of me,
\ngo your dark way.
\nI would be the only friend you had,
\nand you could know
\nwhat tears are all about
\nand even join the living
\nif you\u2019re inclined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I almost met death. It consumed my bones. Beat them into a white powder. Left its hoofs in my brain, scattered my fingers. It wanted…<\/p>\n