On Mortality: Four Observations

I.

“It’s all over now, baby blue.”

In the buckling of the sky

(blue, almost serene, beyond my windshield,

Turned, in my mind’s eye

by the lyrics of a song)

I felt how creatures die

in the final overwhelm

that overcomes

the desperate, rising impulse

of life plunged into struggle.

They shut their eyes tight,

They curl up

They let it all go —

A sudden shift in priorities —

It all goes quite easily:

They open their eyes

And it is gone.

II.

Maybe each time we awake,

We die from the dream we were in

All those scenes

So swiftly forgotten

in the insistent brushstrokes

of the day’s reality.

Maybe we have died thousands of times,

or more (he said)

And it is something in our creature memory:

We know what it is.

III.

Against the backdrop of impassive sky

These tragedies roll out,

These cries of anguish,

All this waste, this grief,

The drudgery, the disappointment

And the clamor for relief

Yet we will give our all for life

Until the final moment comes.

IV.

I don’t intend to die today

But if I did

I would be satisfied.

I’ve sown true seeds,

I’ve shared my gift,

I’ve known great love

I have more words

But these could be enough.

©Wendy Mulhern

March 9, 2013