Death comes in many guises
Several come to mind
Diseases and disasters
And none of them are kind
We wake up from our sleeping
The morning songbird sings
Knowing that the touch of death
Is waiting in the wings
I wish I had the knowledge
I wish I had the power
To see beyond the moment
And to name the day or hour
Poets are obsessed by death
We’ve been since we were born
One did not go gentle
And he refused to mourn
We die but once, he seemed to say
Peaceful or infernal
And after that one passing
Then we are eternal
I wish I had that poets faith
I wish I had his art
But cry if you refuse to mourn
Or else you have no heart
And pray if you know words to pray
Ask comfort for the grieving
That they may bring you tears and prayers
For friends, we’ll all be leaving