DEATH

Death never lets you out of sight,

know it or not, weighing the odds.

He waits while you squander the hours.

Any second,

say halfway through your life,

he can gobble in a blink,

or once again pass by.

Either way you're his.

Yet some race through the days

loaned out by Death, taking too big a share.

Dying young, these geniuses clip Death's winnings

and vex him most. Others

waste no useful moment,

sap Death's gaze,

and quietly expire. Only when

the mourners come

does Death awaken,

startled by murmurs.