O, Death

O, Death, I do not think of you
Your hands of icy cold
Bitter touches of sweet repose
Your thankless job to those still living
Your mercy to those who suffer

O, Death, I do not see your face
Please show yourself quite promptly
That I might recognise the friend and foe
The bittersweet that plagues us all
The inevitable dream that soon comes

O, Death, I do not feel
Though tears still drop
For whom do they well?
Whose life do they honor?
Perhaps only time will tell

O, Death, I hear you calling
On the lips of melancholy
In the hearts of Men
The wind that passes through
The years that blink by and by

O, Death, I do not fear you
Though one may think I ought
I cannot, but pity you instead
For you are always so unwanted
Yet as necessary as birth and life

O, Life, I want to know you
That my death should be in Peace
That my life should be in fervor
Remembrance and preparation
For the quiet hand that will come one day

O, Life, I am awake now
Though perhaps only a minute
Whisper in my ear
That I may not forget the Truth
That I may always remember Death

O, Life, I am new and old
Is this my Life and Death?
The pieces of a self that strives
With ramblings of a broken soul
With a moment, all things change

O, Life, I want your promises
Steady my feet and take my hands
Make ready my place, for I shall come
First quietly and now with ardor
Take this integument and fill it with Your Wisdom and Will