the fear of living

everyone we meet

seems to fear death

in a way that clutches at the heart

and fills the lungs with icy panic,

freezing the body from the inside out.

they are afraid

(oh, they are afraid)

of falling,

of betrayal,

of humiliation,

but they fear death above all else.

death (the fear of) is the foundation

upon which our society is built.

it is the greatest mystery

and the simplest story

in the history of humanity.

it is a bland truth:

almost all beings fear death

deep in their bones,

even when they claim

that it does not scare them.

and we wonder, sometimes,

you and I,

if the reason we do not fear death

is that our own personal Hell is here and now.