Death Walks Beside

 Youth ran away toward the front,

as death pursued from the rear

 

Catching me inside the paradoxical

whipsaw of life

 

I stopped, as the boy continued into the distance;

but the reaper stopped too

 

Wanting me to run some more,

preferring to attack from behind

 

As I turned to face my stalker, his eyes went down;

and his presence cast no shadow

 

He took two steps back, but I reached for his hand

while saying:

 

         “Walk with me, keep up with me;

         your job here still not finished

         The boy has indeed gone; but

         the man is not yet ready to go”

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2017)