Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Last Enemy

Already had death on the brain this week, what with recent conversations, long solitary hours on the road, and the death of a friend's father.  Now to add a coworker to the list.  Rest in peace, Jennifer. Your brave, protracted battle with cancer was astonishing and inspirational to me.  We will all miss you greatly.   Perhaps yesterday's song should have been the below instead; it is one of the most beautiful songs about death I have ever heard:


 

"What Sarah Said" by Death Cab for Cutie
 
And it came to me then
that every plan
is a tiny prayer to father time
As I stared at my shoes
in the ICU
that reeked of piss and 409
And I rationed my breaths
as I said to myself
that I'd already taken too much today
As each descending peak
on the LCD
took you a little farther away from me
Away from me

Amongst the vending machines
and year-old magazines
in a place where we only say goodbye
It stung like a violent wind
that our memories depend
on a faulty camera in our minds
But I knew that you were a truth
I would rather lose
than to have never lain beside at all
And I looked around
at all the eyes on the ground
as the TV entertained itself
 
'Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room
Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news
And then the nurse comes round
and everyone lifts their heads
But I'm thinking of what Sarah said
"Love is watching someone die"
 
So who's going to watch you die?

No comments: