A Visit With Death

Lying in my bed on a night cold and empty,

I hear a creaking at my door,

And try as I might to sleep peacefully,

The sound is eating at my core,

I stand, ready to prove it is just the sounds of a house that is old,

But I open my door, only to behold,

Death,

Oh, sweet death,

I can’t help but scream,

But no sound comes out my throat,

“It seems…” He says,

“That you want out.”

It hits me,

Last night I prayed to be taken away,

I wanted to flee,

But I didn’t mean it this way,

“I didn’t —”

“It doesn’t matter,

You said it,

And now you must go to the ever after.

Besides,

Doesn’t hell seem better?

This wars sides,

You are always on that which is losing.”

“I suppose you are right,

That the boat that is my life is not by any means cruising,

And hell does seem pretty bright,

In comparison to my life that others are using,

Perhaps I should go,

Meet my fate head on,

But how will I know,

If going is what I want?”

“Nobody wants to go,

They simply know,

Know that it is time,

For their flames light,

To stop shining in the night.”

“Then I shall go,

Let you take me.”

“A wise decision you have made,

Come with me on this walk,

It is long, and we have plenty time to talk”

“Talk about what though,

I don’t have much to say that is my own”

“You have plenty to say, my friend,

For you have lived, and I have not,

I want to hear what it is like to have a life to spend,

It is something that helps heal my chests knot”

“You want to hear about life from someone whose life was not their own?

I suppose I can tell you what I know.

Life is an experience like no other,

Because life is experience,

And you learn to treat people better,

Because you know the pains that ail them,

Because they are the same pains that ail you,

And you grow into a fine friend,

And those you know help you too.”

“You talk as though everyone helps each other,

But you know that is not true,

You have been abused like no other,

So why do you still speak a happy tune?”

“Those that have hurt me are not the only ones I’ve met,

I met plenty of people who helped me on my way,

And I know that even though my life was poorly set,

That there were people who I affected with the words that I say,

I was just a simple poet,

But those who heard me speak learned something that day,

They learned that they had potential they could get,

And that life did not have to be that horrible way.”

“You mean the way your life was?

If those who listened to your poems learned to change their lives,

What was the cause

Of you not changing your life to one that thrives?”

“I have no words to express it,

But I simply failed,

In finding people who fit,

Into the life I was trying to build.”

“The luck of the cards was not with you.”

“No it was not.”

“Do you not resent that too?”

“I got what I got,

And it was enough,

I made a difference,

Even if my life was tough.”

“Your words have helped me,

I believe I know what I must do,

I will resign as death and be free,

I think a life is worth it’s due.”

“But without death, life is meaningless”

“That is true.

Perhaps you could help me resolve this mess,

Would you be willing to be death,

For me to live a life too?”

“I suppose that wouldn’t be that bad,

Helping those that die onto the right path.”

“Then I suppose this is goodbye”

“Not for long, my friend,

Life is short, and one night as in your bed you lie,

You will see me again.”

I wrote this poem as a way to express how alone I felt. It also served as a way to experiment with rhymes on a slower line by line scale, which is something I hadn’t done much at the time.