Death's Elegy

Death threw me a welcome banquet because life kissed me goodbye,

My days of bright colours have turned dim,

I wake up every morning to my heart telling me goodnight,

And it feels like God himself says ‘I don’t know him’.

A life of laughter has been replaced with tears,

A life of confidence has been replaced with fears,

Holes in the heart of a mortal from the burning pains of life’s spears.

This is the life of a sonneteer who can’t write a sonnet,

The life of a balladeer who can’t sing a ballad,

This is the life of a troubadour who can’t hold a pen,

The life of a poet who can’t sing a poem

Of what use is the mouth when food itself has rejected it?

Of what use is the voice when the birds run away from it?

Of what use is life when death itself smiles at it?

What is a mortal when the immortals themselves have despised him?

Look! The gods are angry,

The heavens are sad,

The light has ceased shining,

The wind is still,

Fishes are scared of the waters,

Women have rejected men,

Irony has turned plain reality,

Simile can’t compare a blind man to a bat anymore,

Babies refrain from sucking their mothers’ breasts,

The rain doesn’t want to fall,

Darkness is taking over,

Light is getting dimmer,

The soul is in sorrow,

The healthy has grown sick,

The cat doesn’t want to be belled,

The buttocks don’t want to sit,

The heavens are shutting up,

Man’s days are numbered,

The spirit is eager but the flesh is weak,

The once dark hair has turned grey.

Now is the time to meet my ancestors,

I have spent too much time on earth,

The gods are angry,

I am prepared for my journey home.

This is my bargain with life,

This is my bargain with death,

Allow me say goodnight,

Before I give my last breath