Death came knocking last night, sat beside me
All scythe and cloak and darkness
Myself wading through existence
Swimming, even, adrift perhaps
Struggling to accept beauty for some time
I viewed him with curiosity
And maybe a little bit of contempt
“You took my Makaze from me, you know”
They grinned a toothsome grin, wryly provided a retort
“Life is a gift, you know”
There was a long pause; you see
I wasn’t so sure, with its repetitious days
Silhoutted memories of love and passion
Danced in the voids of my mind
Punctuations of pain and a struggle for meaning
“It is what you make of it, and it’s for the living.”
We sat together in silence, again, for some time
“So I guess this is good bye?”
“For now”, they intoned, standing up
“I prefer au revoir,” he said.*
* – credit to Sir Terry Pratchett, adapted final line in “Mort”
What a dark tone – reminds me of Neil Gaiman in a way. I love this line, “All scythe and cloak and darkness” and the terse bit of dialogue exchange enhances the characterizations. I don’t know what Makaze is – ? I googled it, but I’m still not sure I understand. Great closing line that syncs well with the storyline in the poem