I Don’t Want to Live Forever

I don’t want to live forever.

I’m not interested in immortality
Or Fountains of Youth,
Or the lost city of Shangri-La.

Why is it Man fears Death the Wallflower?

Death is a radiant woman
With soft features and a kind smile
Who hums sweet lullabies
When your heart is heavy.

I first met Her driving home
In my Volkswagen Beetle.
She appeared in the passenger side
With Her hands clasped
And She looked into my eyes.

I asked Death why
She was not invisible to me.

“Most refuse to see Me with their mind’s eye.
They fear Me because they
Cling to Earth.
Not Eternity.”

“Do I?” I asked her.
She only smiled.

Death and I became friends-
But She warned me not to touch Her,
For Her embrace would lift my
Soul.

Together we sip tea
And tell stories.
We play board games
And read books.

Death comes to me in the supermarket
And stands beside me in the sea.
She eats in the empty chair at my table
And joins me at the movies.

Death comforts me in my grief
For She is ever-present.
She tells me She loves me.
She wishes She could brush my hair.

I want to reach out my hand for Her.

I don’t want to live forever.