Death Walks Beside

Youth ran away toward the front,
  as death pursued from the rear

Catching me inside the paradoxical 
  whipsaw of life

I stopped, as the boy continued into the distance;
  but the reaper stopped too

Wanting me to run some more,
  preferring to attack from behind

As I turned to face my stalker, his eyes went down;
  and his presence cast no shadow

He took two steps back, but I reached for his hand
  while saying: 

         “Walk with me, keep up with me;
          your job here still not finished 
          The boy has indeed gone; but
          the man is not yet ready to go”

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2017)
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

Poem

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