Questions for Death
Drawn from the movie Meet Joe Black that is not usually classified as a Halloween movie, but really, what evokes more existential thought than death embodying life?
What were you searching for, oh death
That you did not already know?
We seek for our meaning beyond the grave
While all this time you’ve been seeking yours in life?
You searched for the excitement
The whisper of a thrill
Things we often miss in our own time
We are told to be serious
To not turn to frivolous materials
That what matters is not this world
We stress for we cannot be spiritual enough to get out of our bodies before our appointed time of taking our last breath
To inhabit
What we believe to be
The true essence of being
And yet
Our material body
Has purpose
To you?
You hold the power to delay inevitable
Or end a being before their time
Yet a simple spoon of peanut butter
Feeds a part of your soul
(Or whatever your being possesses)
When you found love
You knew
The same way we do
That for some unknown reason
It means everything
And just like us you wanted to keep it forever
The thought of being without
Hurts your core so deeply that you would be willing to give up everything you have
Go back on every word you’ve ever given
And put to the test anyone who would try and take it from you
But you are just as confined as we are
Shackled by the conundrum
Of wanting true love to hold forever
But true love isn’t about holding
It isn’t about forever
To love
Is to live fiercely
Then release
Whether they stay in our hands or not
Belongs to something else
All this time
We thought it belonged to you
You were Death longing to experience life
And a life about to die
Had sympathy for you
So maybe
We are all lost together
And every moment in life and death
Means nothing and everything
Rolled together as one
What did you find, oh death?
You have now seen both sides
Is there truly
Nothing to fear?
Or is your calm an acceptance
Of eternal unknown?
Mia Savant
