No One Dies Alone

No One Dies Alone By John Herlihy The scene has been repeated for thousands of years; The body lay supine, eyes no longer have room for tears. The life has been lived; all is now said and done; The ball of yarn has unraveled; the web of life is spun. A beaded curtain in the room rustled, sounding like rain; All of nature utters sounds without seeming to complain. The candles flicker, the light has dimmed; The breath is shallow; the blood has thinned. We breathe all our lives; we take the air for granted; In our dying moment, the final breath is scented. With actions that make up the deeds of a lifetime, One destiny in which even the darkness did shine. The breath now labored, the struggle has begun; One last breath to inhale; one final note to be sung. No one dies alone, the angel of death is always there; On eternity’s horizon, counting seconds left to spare. One breath we are here; the final breath we are gone; Slipped into another dimension where we now belong. The final breath has extinguished, the body grows cold; Life’s candle snuffed out, the soul is no longer old. It rises upward and upward still on uplifted hands; Light as a feather, the weight of the world disbands. No one dies alone; death only an invitation brings; Hand-delivered by an angel with extended wings.