XIII  DEATH

 I will show you all – in time

I am your uniting principle –
without my benefit of deadlines
none of you get anywhere.

Besides, it isn’t really me
but rather age & fate,
I only give you rest
when they have done their part.

With hushed voices, you speak of me,
usually around coffins,
you reflect, nod & listen –
& then forget it all
until next time.

You claim I’m party to the Great Wheel,
but I take no part in her blind meddlings.
You say I destroyed the Hanged Man,
but he hung himself, like Narcissus.
You say I reap & plow & weed,
you speak of nature’s stable populations,
but I dislike harvest mythology.

O misunderstanding populace,
why do you burn your straw dolls in the spring
& float them down to me in the river?

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