A Conversation with Life and Death

A man on the brink of ending his life is confronted by voices of wisdom—from scavengers and billionaires to death itself—each offering a different perspective on survival, success, and purpose.

A haggard man
staggered up
to the hills
and holding a knife,
declared on his knees,
"I want to end my life!
I've suffered for many years."

The Hyena said to him,
"don't die a hunter
who never has had enough to eat."
"It's better to scavenge,"
said the Vulture.
"than to starve. "

Elon Musk walked by
and looked at him,
"don't die an unsuccessful man," he said,
"because you cannot establish
your business.
It is better to help establish another's
and gain from what he pays you,
than to dig for diamond
all alone."

Davey Ramsey said,
"don't die because
you have an
antisocial attitude,
bullied, depressed
or anxious
of the outside world.
It is better to get drunk
or do drugs
than to commit suicide."

Then Snoop Dogg said,
"A smoker knows
he will die from a lung disease,
but he also knows
he will die sooner from depression
if he didn't smoke."
The man raised his knife
unconvinced
and saw death in a vision
And death said to him,
"If you die depressed,
you will surely reincarnate
more depressed,
you don't escape your misery
by dying
I am only a gateway
to another life."

Then the man broke down
and looked up to God
for answers
And God said:
"Listen then
since you have no wisdom:
affluenza is a disease
created by man himself;
It won't be cured by death
nor the dead person;
It won't be cured in the grave
nor the afterlife,
affluenza can only be cured
here on earth
in your present life
while you are still alive
and chanced."

So the man looked at himself
And took a deep breath.

© Godwin Isiwu

Author's Note

The man in the poem represents the hundreds of thousands of depressed people in the world who think giving up on life or committing suicide will end their problems. There is truly a remedy to every problem you face, only it is right here in this world, not in the thereafter. The characters in the poem agrees there's something to sacrifice, a price to pay to get this remedy, yet there's still always a remedy— so it is better to pay sacrifice for a distant death today than alter for a quick one which will bring neither an immediate nor an aftermath benefit. In lines 33, 34, 35., Snoop laid emphasis on that. He said:

Then Snoop Dogg said,
"A smoker knows
he will die from a lung disease,
but he also knows
he will die sooner from depression
if he didn't smoke."