WHERE IS YOUR STING

You are the greatest enemy of man
Coming and going at your pleasure
A masterful force to reckon with
No one knows the day or the hour 

You seize all living things without a fight
You are the death angel, Prince of the night
You encompass the total experience of a man’s life
Bringing it to a handful of dust hidden from the light 

With every heartbeat, you linger near
A gentle presence, both calm and clear 
In laughter shared, and sorrows’ weight 
You cradle life on the hand of fate

Who is Death, but a fleeting pause
Where the body lays silent but the soul moves on
So I am not afraid of you, thou stealer of life
I will rise again, and walk in the light.

Wilford Barker.