Running from death

I'm telling you
Don't say it,
Don't speak the word
Because it will come
Knocking,
Knocking at the door 
Of your soul.
Louder and louder
It will pound
Until you can't resist.
I'm telling you not to
But you do it anyway,
You open the door
And it is...
Don't say it...
Death!
All arrayed in black apparel,
Gaunt eyes and soulless form.
There it is.
Will it devour you?
Devour someone you love?
I told you,
Don't say it.
I told you,
Don't do it.
It comes like a game
Of predator and prey.
It will gnaw at you
And eat you, 
Until all you can do
Is wish,
And really wish
You could die.
You have made it an authority,
A king to rule over you.
And you'll always wait,
And wait,
For it to come.
You can't live
When you're waiting to die.
Have you considered
Maybe you've been lied to.
Look again,
Nothing's there
Unless you make it so.
Death is nothing, 
Nothing more
Than an illusion,
A figment of your imagination.
Truly a friend or foe,
You decide.
That's why I said,
Don't open the door,
Or you'll always be
Running from death.

© 2020 Loly Rinn
Photo by Leonardo Yip on Unsplash