In The Company of Death

Death
With its sleekiest cloak
Seeps up
To my company
Not knowing
I have
Spread my life
In my child
In my classmates
From the old school
In the private mind
Of my lovers
And fantasy
Of some others
In a cozy Christmas dinner
In a generous smile
To a lonely stranger

The dark cloak brushes
My shoulder
I walk up
No longer afraid
Death
Will only
Bury
My flesh

Written on Aug. 6, 1998