Yvonne

by Melanie Blatt

Dedicated to Yvonne Castaños who died Jan 23rd 2024. 

She was a raging fire who always knew how to put a smile on your face. 

so quick

flicker of light

dancing like it has a message

trapped in its glass

let me out

almost at the end

head slipping under

Drowning

the thread pulls slow and steady

though the refusal to accept fate is 

tenacious

unyielding is the light

as it sucks its last breath

flesh remains

timer starts

no sophistication can prevent the inevitable

with the soul gone

the carcass is empty

pawing at stiffening limbs is futile

the body will run cold

the body is not the kinder

it is the jar

the container that trapped the flame

can the soul be snuffed out?

energy cannot be created or destroyed

what tethers it now?

what does it call home?

or does it merely exist?

identity gone

molecules free to be inhaled by the living

wandering light

void of sound sensation sight

baptism of the soul

like magnets we call it home

you nor me are never really alone

as infinite as electrons

we are the universe

we cannot become less or more

the soul is a gift from God

everlasting

the carcass may rot

but the flame within can only be freed

am i even me

are you even you 

or are we just we

one part of a whole

broken only to live

mortal life

nothing to finish

nothing to do

just be

collecting memories like stars 

death is not human nor soul

it is a shapeshifter

eyes cannot see

it is a word to describe unknown

our imagination of an end

we invented a state of being

we apply it without meaning

death is not cruel

is not an enemy

it is certain

make friends with death

walk with him and listen

he understands life better than the living

there’s no preventing the rain

nothing will prevent pain

to lose is to have had

and we are designed to want

want more memories more time

yet all the same

shelter ourselves and others from pain

understand the irreplaceable 

in the world full of fluff

people cannot be resuscitated like a phone

if we break

you will not find us in a store

mourn for the ones you lose

for time love and gratitude