Day 15: "Death Is Only" Alicia Ostriker

[druidspell]

Death is only
The soul in its rowboat, pulling away.

Wide water,
Wind glances at its hair,

It is taking
Great gulps of the sky.

The oarlocks creak,
The soul stretches and tingles.

It feels happy and irresponsible
The way it did in childhood,

The long summers,
When every day sloped like a meadow

Dotted with dozing
Cows and shady oaktrees,

And the nights augmented themselves
Like a city's lights coming on,

One by one, one by one,
An earthly curtain of lights you could just enjoy

Like a show. Yes,
It loved inhabiting that child's body,

It felt free then,
And it was never afraid.

For years now, sipping
One cup of coffee after another,

Pursing its lips,
It has been frightened.

But why? What did it fear?
It can't remember.

—Embarked, it whispers
To itself. Embarked.