Descent

A slow recline into one's padded casket,
A gentle lowering onto silk;
Two similar lullings, so alike--
One temporary, one eternal sleep.

Perhaps, you think, while gently falling,
This shallow slumber may be your last;
Remember, you won't know the difference
Between a short snooze and forever farewell.

The scrunch as I tread on magnolia leaves
Sounds like pottery breaking;
Will you break my fall, o fractured vessels,
And turn into urns to inter my ashes?

The honey-sweet fragrance of linden flowers
Makes me cough uncontrollably. I love them, but please,
Don't bring them bierside, for they may cause me
To convulse post-mortem.