To Those Who Fear the End

And I will show that nothing can happen more beautiful than death
-Walt Whitman



To those who fear the end,

hurrying toward some answer in the sky
that may shield us,

some purpose to carry us forth,

I ask:

How does one come to value Life?

Is it not by knowing
that it may end at any moment?

It is not the soft, raw truth
of human fragility

that leads us to cradle our own hearts,
and caress our tender organs
in precious blood?

Yet we grow angry and despise Death.

No war!- no old age!- no sickness!-
we exclaim.
These ideals are a joy
of the human mind working;

the toil of staying afloat
gives us strength to strive.

Yet, is Death not the looming truth
which fuels such glorious hope and ambition?

* * *
This is not to advocate Death.
Nor to slow in any way
the battle against it.

This is to know,
in no uncertain terms,

that any flight must soar above something;

any win is defined by a loss;

any Love-

such as that for Life and Being
in torrents of Joy-

is the embrace of something precious,

something infinitely wonderful,
seen completely

in the light of its absence.

* *

Facing Death as the loss of Life
makes Life.

Death must be loved
and celebrated

for its true nature and beauty,

for the gift of Love that it offers.