Intensity and Death

There is an urgency, an immediacy, during an acute crisis.

We do not think ahead, and we do not look back.

At its most acute, impending death is merciful:

We act, respond, re-act, and keep moving

waiting for the next step, the next movement, the next breath, the next heartbeat…

three

two

one

.

And then (the great pause)

It is only when time starts to move forward again that death is cruel.

Now we hear the long silence.

Now we enter empty space.

Now we stop waiting,

for now we know

No-thing is waiting for us.

Now it is left to us to reorder the world.

To put away the debris

To set aside the plans

To linger on memories alone.

Now we trudge forward

Now we labor to understand

Now we work in a different reality

Not of our choosing.