A Reminder for the Living Only

Again today, I am reminded of mortality and pain.

Consciously consider the gravity of life and the
Inevitable darkness of death, of how the living
Discuss the recently deceased—at least he or she

Is no longer suffering in pain. That sentiment is
Of no consolation to me for you see, if you can no
Longer realize the soothing comfort of relief in
Mind, muscle and joint, if you can no longer

Express the diminishing or slipping away of pain,
What would be the benefit in dying except to
Bequeath to others the space you had previously
Occupied here in this life on Earth? In all reality

Pain shall never follow the dead to the grave; for
The living the feeling of all that is possible shall
Ever remain. I most loved and appreciated a tooth-
Ache after the throbbing and excruciating molar

Had been removed. In life there can be sighs of
Relief; in death the last breath erases the history of
Miseries, and affords glorious easements from all
Pain ever known. I, myself, had my rotten teeth

Extracted while I was still alive. The other maladies
I am cursed with in my old age shall persist until my
final day. Oh, mind you, I can wait—hunched over
In pain, and hobbling along at a snail’s pace with

Precious time incrementally, relentlessly ticking away,
I can surely wait.

Chris Hanch 1-25-17