The Nuisance of Death

 

I carry my death with me
like a well worn penny
it’s there when I reach in my pocket
unexpected
sudden
I play with it
feel it
turn it over and over
trying to see it’s history

I carry my death in my chest
it plays hide and seek
with scars and sutures
and wakes me up
shouting
sweating
transforming
benign dreams
into ghoulish grinning predictions

I carry my death always
it floats over my left shoulder
like a vultures shadow
cast from high above
a spot on the lung of the sun
careless
passing over me
this time
in the blink of an eye

I carry my death to my bed
sleep in it’s embrace
a nightly game of chance
unafraid
unapologetic
apathetic
which infuriates it’s sense of importance
and eliminates mine

I carry my death consciously
it enters with each breath
powers the hourglass
so each grain of sand
is a minute
a laugh
a prayer
gone forever