Death

Can you hear them?

The drums are calling

They say
The sun will shine
The rain will fall
And the night sky will revolve
As surely as the swing of the executioner's ax

Can you hear death calling?

Listen
She is whispering your name

She says
Do not look at me as the loveforsaken
What do you know of love's hand in my work?
I am the Great Destroyer and the Portal to life
I am the desert at the end of all roads and this expanse
You cannot cross with steps or feet

When times are good
Men forget her face
They find her ghastly
Some men spend their lives trying to forget her face
There are those who would contain her in computer monitors
Sterilize her in automated lethal injections
Disguise her with red buttons labelled 'armed'
And deemed humane, but she will not be contained
And when the drums are calling, she reveals her true form
To all who dare gaze upon the darkness of the unknown

Her mouth, the eater of time and moments
Lips, dark from sucking out all color
Eyes, the velvet depths of a black hole
Hers is the tongue that cuts the throats of words
And her attire, midnight blue breeze
With stars on her ears
The moon dangling off her neck
She smiles, and as her teeth grind planets and suns
Between bites, all matter becomes one
She smiles and as her teeth grind planets and suns
Between bites, yin and yang become one

The entire universe is on her dinner plate
But with each bite, she gives birth to life
So tell me, what is hers but a labor of love?
We can mask her presence in our midst
We can deny her, cover up her signs and look away
But when the drums are calling
We have to leave behind everything and go all in
Because love requires honesty
And death is the ultimate truth
We just pray that when she finally calls our name
There is enough love in our hearts
That we can greet the darkness with an even gaze