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Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Death Will Not Be a Surprise

It is the only reliable thing
in this world.

When armed
with the right lens,
the specter of Death
does not hide:

the opossum frozen
with the shriek of death
on its face in a tidy
pool of dried blood,

empty wrappers
littering the streets,
reminders of
everything that was taken
so that we the living
could be nourished,

the putty-colored
misshaped used condoms
employed to halt
or at least delay
the continuum of life,

even these modest
and ill-conceived ramblings
are written so that
when Death comes
to redeem my ticket
I will have
somehow
beat the game.

But any fool knows
that’s another losing
proposition.

Death will not be a surprise
and it will not take
“No” for an answer.

Until that day,
drink in the roses
dive into the orgasm
with eyes wide open

swim in the melody.

8 comments:

  1. I love this poem. What do we think we are saving it for? Such an urgency to make a mark and be remembered. "Death will not take no for an answer." I always need the reminder. It's so real and surreal.

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  2. This is an excellent list type poem with many telling analogies. Death should come as no surprise.

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  3. Each day I do my thing, make my mark and each day Death marks a notch on my scorecard. So far we are even Stevens.

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  4. We know it's a game where the only thing we can win is time... death will always trump your hand in the end...

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  5. This is incredible. One of my favorites of yours. I really love it.

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  6. This is so incredibly potent!💕

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  7. I hear it is your birthday. A million la la's to you old friend.

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  8. Yes we all have a surprise expiry date.
    Happy Birthday to you !

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