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.