by Edward Reid

 

Be not like your fathers, bow or cry;

do not let them see you wail.

No coward you are; you are like David with a stone,

alone –

yet he did not balk.

Curse the day that says you die and stand in the sun

staring it down.

Fight death, fight fate; you are your fate.

 

The dead do not know they are dead,

and the living cower to know they will die.

When they die, what is left

but the memory of their last days,

if at all?

Be clear, be brave, know what you are,

and fight the inevitable.

Fight death, fight fate; you are your fate.

 

It is what it is on your grave,

and maybe a passerby will notice,

maybe not.

You may be in a vase, sitting on the shelf as dust, like you are,

all is forgotten.

Do you know what is to come?

Do you comprehend the magnitude?

Fight death, fight fate; you are your fate.

 

It has been said that eternity is unknown,

and all men will be forgotten in time.

Will you accept the forgottenness

of your being and destiny?

Why do you cower and live

as though you are already dead,

as though you did not exist?

Fight death, fight fate; you are your fate.

 

Have you ever questioned your existence,

why –

and what will become of it,

or do you care anyway?

S0, you will find out as it is when it is, but bite

and fight with fury

at what you see as the unknown.

It comes when it comes,

but you are the master, the maker,

and the ender of it all.

Fight death, fight fate; you are your fate.