Beauty of Death

Fall in love with it

There is no escape from it

Every moment brings it a few inches closer

Under a candle light we strive forward

Unaware that at some point, we will meet it.

 

The mind, that clever little voice reminds

‘Look, it is everywhere around you, but you are still here, living’

No one knows if it is around the corner, where it resides

But when it does arrive, no mind would be alive to say, ‘I told you so.’

Such fear it instills within us all, a crime to even take its name, such a taboo.

At its very thought or mention, the thought itself is killed off.

We wake ourselves, remind ourselves,

That we are alive, why entertain such thoughts.

 

Why should we be afraid of the one we would meet today or tomorrow?

Let the thought start the revolution, let it spark the realization.

That this body is only for today or tomorrow,

Let us forget mortality, spirituality we shall follow.

No point in soaking our cheek, no need for sorrow.

There is no species ever born that it cannot swallow.

Let us now meet the within, which never dies.

Let us embrace that which is never a lie.

The truth which Jesus, Buddha and Krishna knew.

The ones who embraced the beauty of death, the chosen few.

 

The soul is immortal, it is the consciousness

That which changes forms, only one of which the body that we live in.

Let us accept the all-knowing, the all powerful

Let us sing in its praise, dance in its presence.

Realise that this moment is a gift, let us be mindful,

That death is just a celebration, which ends in silence. 

Reviews

[Anjali]

First and foremost, thank you for the read request Ashan. After reading the Title, I was reluctant to read the poem! However, it struck me "Death is inevitable from the day we are born!" So I started reading your poem and yes it was scarier, but there are certain lines which you wrote that I couldn't stop myself from highlighting for those are the essence or rather "Beauty" of your poem.

1) There is no escape from it
Every moment brings it a few inches closer
Under a candle light we strive forward
Unaware that at some point, we will meet it.

2) The truth which Jesus, Buddha and Krishna knew.
The ones who embraced the beauty of death, the chosen few.

3) Realise that this moment is a gift, let us be mindful,
That death is just a celebration, which ends in silence.

In short, amazing piece of writing Ashan, Keep it up!

[Ashwin Shanker]

This is half the poem. I am happy that you saw the lines to be quotable. Thank you so much.

[Pragati Chaudhary]

Lovely thought about death and Silence!
We must always accept the fact that we all had to die
Some early some late
lovely work
:)

[Davy Galloway]

I liked this poem but I personally like your love poems and stories better

[Ashwin Shanker]

hahaha... I feel I write a bit too cheeesy when it comes to writing love... but anywaays, happy to know that you enjoy it

[Omikron]

Deep insights shine through in this poem. Truly inspirational I must say.

And it is true, why should we bother about small problems or get hung up over stupidities when in the end "no one will be alive to say I told you so".

This poem reminds me of a quote, that has become one of my favorites:

"Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
But today is a gift,
that's why it is called the present"

Great write overall, I really enjoyed reading it.

// O

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you for the great review. Yes, I love that quote which you shared too, it was there in Kung Fu Panda 3 also right?

[Omikron]

yes exactly, but it is a popular quote, both Alice Morse Earle and Bil Keane have used it. I don't blame them though, it's simply a great quote.

:)

// O

[Ashwin Shanker]

I see... Thanks for sharing that trivia/

[Jenny]

"The mind, that clever little voice reminds/ ‘Look, it is everywhere around you, but you are still here, living’/ No one knows if it is around the corner, where it resides/ But when it does arrive, no mind would be alive to say, ‘I told you so.’ "

This whole poem is wonderful. I especially love how it reads aloud. And the brilliant way you use style and explore ideas tells a beautiul story.

Thanks for sharing!
J

[Ashwin Shanker]

Yes, I made it a point that I recite the poem aloud while I was editing and fine-tuning it. I am glad that you noticed that detail.

Thank you for the review Jenny.

[Jenny]

I try to notice everything ;) hahaha

youre welcome! thank you for sharing

[Ruth]

A very profound piece Ashan. To me, the fear of death is possibly because one hasn't lived, mostly the Western world has the perception of death all wrong, it is not prepared for and not embraced like other cultures, it is not an easy thing to witness nor to dwell on but this poem shows the merits of doing so, nicely done :)

[Ashwin Shanker]

Is that so, I am not completely knowledgeable on what exactly the western perception of death actually is... Care to explain further? :)

And yes, I feel that death, being the inevitable climax, needs to be better understood, which was why I addressed the same in this poem. Thank you for the review Poppy.

[Ruth]

Here death is feared, not celebrated nor thought of, certainly not prepared for. Different cultures deal with it differently I mean, is all. Some prepare and spend a lifetime doing so for it, others blank it out until the end. Some live a lifetime accepting it so life is richer and transcendence occurs, I guess spirituality enters here. A vast topic and never a more poignant one...

[Ashwin Shanker]

I fall into the last category :)

[Surabhi Kaushik]

This is hugely different style of writing from your other pieces of work. Very profound indeed! My fav lines in this poem are realise that this moment is a gift, let us be mindful.......death is a celebration which ends in silence. Those lines are beautiful!

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you Surabhi for the review. Do have a look at my latest short story and let me know you thoughts on that as well.. Thanks a lot for the support

[Surabhi Kaushik]

You are most welcome Ashan. You have a lot of potential as a writer.

[Ashwin Shanker]

awww,,, thanks man... you already are a good one :)

[MightyMouse]

Wow, good job. Makes death sound even scarier :D but still puts it simply enough that it doesn't seem that bad.

[Ashwin Shanker]

It isn't bad at all, our attitude towards death should definitely change.

[Alessander]

Tough subject matter to tackle. Death is both abstract and immediate.

This piece reminds me of the stoic sentiment - do not fear death, for once dead, nothing to feel.

Of course, that idea can also drive one crazy lol

But I get it.

Fav lines.

"The truth which Jesus, Buddha and Krishna knew.

The ones who embraced the beauty of death, the chosen few. "

It is hard, esp when strolling through a hospital or hospice.

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you for the review Alessander :)