#I wrote this one immediately after finishing Spiritfarer because I had/have some feelings

[ryteu]

The Deathdream

There is a tale, now old, I call the Deathdream— The final flash of thought through fading minds, Recounting the account of life in full Before the fire fails and flickers out; The brain, it's said, takes on the role of friend Most dear and offers out a cigarette By way of memory, the only gift Of comfort it can give before the light Sinks down into the darkling, Lethe sea.

I wonder whether fear is put aside When it begins, or does it gain a new, Less choking flavor? Become more like bitter But soothing medicine, the fertile soil That gives way to calm before oblivion? The dream must seem so peaceful from outside, Where others see what seems a quiet sleep; It's kind to hope the same is true within.

Perhaps the dream must rush itself as Death Begins to press; yet, still there must come stillness In a soul as the vision nears its end. If nothing else, the living may find comfort In peaceful stillness washing suffering Away, and hoping that a careful reaper Now ferries love into the dreamless dark.

The way I hear the story told, the mind Does not pass judgment on the soul; instead, I hope, it shows the truth - the better, worse - Then takes one's hand and smiles - sad and soft - While saying, "'Twas a lovely dream, this life; The evil scars will fade before the kind."

And even should it be an empty lie, It matters not for those who then must die; Such comfort would be cruelest to deny. Before the long, unending, dreamless sleep, Our final dream should bring to us some peace.

It may be vain to ponder on a dream Forlorn that none alive may ever see; To claim to ken what happens at the end As though it might resolve the mystery.

It is, indeed, the greatest irony That death, our single commonality, Must stay unknown to all humanity.

Perhaps the dream is nothing but a tale; Yet, comfort still I find within the question:

What shape, I wonder, shall my Deathdream take?

#so I wrote another poem using an impulsively-created experimental stanza structure #I think it add to what I'm trying to say here #(assuming tumblr doesn't fuck up my formatting that is) #(if it does then you should know that it's 9 stanzas with one less line in each subsequent stanza so 9 then 8 then 7 etc) #I wrote this one immediately after finishing Spiritfarer because I had/have some feelings #and because the first line spawned in my head during the final journey #anyway hopefully some of you look at this and find it at least mildly interesting #ry rhymes #p.s. go play Spiritfarer if you can. It's a very good game.