Struggle XIII

By Andrew R. Duckworth

No one is supposed to live forever
But we all want to.
Who wants to meet death,
That coward that shows its face
Only at the end of life?
Sometimes I forget my own mortality
And forget to reflect.
But it’s chasing us the day
We’re born and, eventually,
Our running legs run out of energy.
I’ve heard it said that some
Greet death as a friend.
It’s a beautiful outlook
That says more about life
Than it does of death.
In all honesty, I try not to think
About death.
I have no idea if it is miles
Down the road or hot on my heels.
We aren’t given a date,
Only the reality that someday
We will all meet that reaper.
Will it be a coward,
Jumping on me when I least
Expect it?
Or will I have accepted my fate
And shake its free bony hand
As it tells me “Time to go”?
Sometimes, I convince myself
That when it’s time, it’s time,
And that’s that.
But there’s still so much
Unfinished.