Pageant of Poems

When life gives us our first breath
Standing by is our own death
When we breathe our first sigh
We know not our destiny is to die
Life cannot be without death - you see
Life invigorates us to our core
Death extinguishes life to be sure
Yet we cannot have life fully
'Til we know death
Death and life are old inseparable friends
Wherever life is in the house
Death is near the window or door
The unity of breath and death is this
For life to live some must die
Death allows life to survive
How we address this interplay
Is the story of each life each day.


Claude H Oliver II