Death

• Evenezer Gebremedhin, Grade 11, Bishop Druitt College -
• Poetry
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

Death arrives among all that sound
like a shoe with no foot in it, like a suit with no man in it,
comes and knocks, using a ring with no stone in it, with no
finger in it,
comes and shouts with no mouth, with no tongue, with no
throat.
Nevertheless its steps can be heard
and its clothing makes a hushed sound, like a tree.

Calmly to watch the failing breath,
Wishing each sigh might be the last;
Longing to see the shade of death
O’er those belovèd features cast.

After my death what would happen to me?
Will I become an animal, ghost or tree?
If so, do I need to pass a test, to still live in a world of mess?
If I pass, what will I be?
Will I go back to earth and still be me?