The Way Death Works

This weekend has been filled with activities. I had a funeral to attend yesterday and that took up a good chunk of the day. I know this isn’t the politically correct thing to say, but I always find myself sadder when a young person dies, whether I knew them well or not. When people are older, you expect death more. The funeral I went to was for a relative of mine that I didn’t really know. She was only 26 and that didn’t sit well with me because I’m 25. It was so sad to see her daughter there and know that her daughter would grow up without her mother. It was even worse to see her father and her grandmother there crying over her casket. You’re not supposed to bury the young. A parent should never have to bury their child, it’s just not the way things are supposed to work, but life doesn’t go according to the way people think it should. Everyone, even young people, can die at any moment and there is nothing they can do about it. I don’t mean that in the dismal, depressing ‘we’re all going to die’ way, I mean that in the ‘let’s face reality, all of our days are numbered and none of us know how long we have’ way. I think that makes me want to push harder and do something with my life. I don’t want to die without doing something. The whole world doesn’t need to know my name, but I do want to be able to feel like I made a difference in the world. Like maybe someone’s life was better because I lived.

Anyway, here’s another random poem. Oddly enough it was kind of inspired by one of my stories.

He Would Have Stayed

Unabashed by the admittance of fear in to an unbreakable circle
Jealousy was just a word until that person came along
The looks they exchanged belied their true feelings
Try as he might, reassurances fell on deaf ears
And doubt took residence on a warm shoulder

The love that glued them together began to weaken
As accusations flourished and were callously thrown
Falling to the ground like leaves bearing various shades of the truth
He was surprised by the sudden change in temperature
But determined to weather the storm
With a sweater and fond memories of the past
He hunkered down and waited for the clouds to part

While the dreary sky hung over them threatening to unleash the rain
He watched in disbelief as the ring fell from her finger
Suddenly the fit wasn’t right and she had lost interest in having it resized
She thought it was never meant for her,
She told him as much when she handed it to him

He belonged with someone else
And she was not going to stand in his way
She had seen how they were drawn to each other
Like moths unable to stay away from the light
He was too good of a man to leave on his own
So she set him free

He hurt for a while knowing that he would have stayed
And he could have loved her just like before
But then he found himself in the arms of the one she feared
There he discovered that she was right
Things fell in to place in a way they never had with her

Though he hated himself for being happy
He found himself grateful for her sacrifice
She freed him when he was content with confinement
And she received nothing in return
But an invitation to his new lease on life
With an r.s.v.p. date that marked a year after she said goodbye.


Status: Trying to think of a way to make a difference in the world.