What if Death got tired?
A Good Friday / Easter Sunday spoken word poem.
I wrote and shared this poem in 2021 for Good Friday. It has followed me ever since.
I decided to share it again, in spoken form.
It was written from the perspective of Death as a person encountered by Jesus, and meant to explore this idea: What if Love does not come to conquer, but to transfigure?
Poem starts at 2:10. Transcription below.
What if Death got tired?
What if he felt heartsick,
Consumed by his own consuming,
Swallowed by grief from eras of swallowing life?
What if he missed the world covered in flowers?
What if he longed for the Sun?
Can you imagine what it may have been like to
Find him at the doorstep
After so many years of waiting?
What if they shared stories at the table like dear comrades do
And feasted on Wine and once-buried Bread,
Laughing until their stomachs hurt
Until the warmth of the Spirit(s) eased him to confess?
“I’ve been lonely and I’ve missed you,”
Eyes flickering down like a candle in the stillness.
Then,
A calloused hand appears on his shoulder -
And a shuddering wail that he nearly didn’t realize
Was coming from his own throat
Pierces the awkward silence.
With shaking, heavy sobs and tears falling on the Wood,
Lungs heaving, burning with the Pain Of All Pain,
His Soul slumps forward in exhaustion…
Too far gone to be embarrassed in front of
The Friend he has waited his whole existence for.
What happens next, do you think?
In this moment of Quiet Opportunity?
Do you think the guest brings out a sword
And slices right through his soft, white underbelly?
Does the visitor begin naming
All the worst things Death has ever done?
Or does the caller leave without another word,
Letting the knife twist itself?
No.
I think Love is Better than that.
I think Love leans in, all the way in,
Even into Death.
I think Love pulls Death close, like a Mother
And cradles all of the Grief
All of the Bad Years
All of the Pain
All of the Hurt
Death’s entire, lanky body
Curled under Love’s chin
Arms wrapped around Love’s pierced side.
And I think Love holds him for a Long Time,
Just like that.
Until Death is
Entirely Different.