I Was Present When I Died

I was present when I died

I smelt their fear

Their anger and confusion,

Their love, hate, and bewilderment

I witnessed their panic,

Saw their outstretched hands

Toward a God they never knew,

Reaching out for redemption

Till time, itself, evaporated in their hands

I was present when I died

I’m the doubt in the back of their minds

An aching memory

A shadow before their eyes

My name on their lips,

Whispered with reverence

Now that I am gone

Who embraces the unknown?

Who walks that path?

Who, unless, treading carefully, he hopes

To avoid the traps time sets

For the mortal soul?

I was present when I died

Entering larger spaces

But their wailings brought me back

To a reality that no longer was mine