Beautiful Death

There is a song by Iron & Wine where he is laying in his wife's arms, and they are speaking of the end of life as if it were the most romantic thing in the world.

There is a beauty in death.

It is that sweet moment between here and there,

the doorway to what happens next.

There is a different kind of quiet,

a moment as the breathing stops,

as the soul leaves,

as we grasp the concept

of what a lifetime really means,

that there really is an end.

And if we listen closely,

we can hear the beginning.

 

When I die, lay me uncovered in the naked earth.

I wish to be the beauty in death,

becoming the beauty in life.

May I melt into the soil,

be the veins in the grass and the flowers,

travel with earthworms

and fly with the birds.

 

Then I will live forever.

Author's Note

I had the hardest time with this one. I could not get the image in my head to become words on the page. Any suggestions are more than welcome.

Reviews

[Passion for Literature]

you captured your thoughts in an exquisite manner...to know we loved and to know that we are loved in our final moments in life definitely adds to the beauty...your image of returning to the earth is absolutely breathtaking

death is so mysterious...after I read your work, I thought of a prose piece titled ON DEATH by Dan Mencher...I seem to maintain a zen approach concerning subjects such as this...there is a notion that death is part of life because death is inevitable...I believe if one lives a rewarding life one is able to look death in the eye and realize for life to be fulfilled there is an end to complete the story which the beauty of life is then preserved.

WONDERFULLY WRITTEN!

[A.J. Smith]

While only you truly know if your words adequately reflect the thoughts and images in your mind, you did a very nice job with this poem. I suspect there are few, if any, subjects harder to address eloquently than death and its meaning. I am especially struck by the final two lines of your first stanza; and I really like your shift to first person in your second stanza. I hope you will be around for many decades to ponder and write.

[Emily Elizabeth]

This is really really fantastic! There aren't many other poems on here that deal with death in such a delicate and beautiful way. It's rather haunting in some ways, but very sweet in others. The flow was lovely, almost like a grave inscription. And the gap between the second-to-last and the last stanza is a nice touch, it really makes the last two lines stand out brilliantly.
Lovely piece, thanks for sharing!

[AK]

The first time I faced death squarely in the eye and felt it on my hands changed me in ways I cannot define. It was not quite as peaceful as this. Forgive the shameless plug but Goodbye Brown Eyes gives a different perspective.
And... if you haven't watched the movie "The Notebook", you should.

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Good poem!
You gave a great description
of the bueaty in everything around us.

Me Being Me,
Morgan P.