Death: A Commentary (standard:other, 842 words)
Author: Sare	Added: Nov 22 2001	Views/Reads: 3444/2225	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
What happens when you die? A perspective.

"To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub.
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled 
off this mortal coil, must give us pause." Shakespeare, Hamlet. 

"Good night, sweet prince. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
Shakespeare, Hamlet. 

"'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased
to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of 
life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be 
pushing up the daisies! 'E's off the twig! 'E's curled up his tootsies, 
'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, 'e's run down the curtain and joined 
the bleedin' choir invisible!! He's f*ckin' snuffed it!..... Vis a vis 
the metabolic processes, he’s had his lot. All statements to the effect 
that this parrot is still a going concern are from now on inoperative. 
THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!" Monty Python, the Dead Parrot Sketch. 

What happens after you die? Do you have a soul? Is there Heaven or Hell?
Purgatory, limbo, paradise: the light at the end of the tunnel. Out of 
body and near-death experiences, reincarnation, deja-vu. Something like 
'Beetlejuice', the afterlife just literally after your life. Ghosts and 
spirits and angels. Nirvana. Brahman. God, Yahweh, Elohim, Allah. Soul. 
Atman. Transcendence. Balloons that follow people about and a possessed 
cat. Rain and sunshine as you cry and laugh at the cemetery. 

the body as inherently good or evil. immortality. the body as a tomb,
repressive. the body as god's temple. burial, decay, decomposition. 
virtue is its own reward and vice its own punishment. suffering. pain, 
hate, hurt, sorrow, grief. babies. lilacs. love. red balloons and 
rainbows. raindrops on windowpanes. the trampled rose. passion, desire. 
wickedness. naughtiness. cruelty. compassion. 

what does it all mean?? 

nothingness. the void. chaos. the swirl of water draining away. silence.
cacophony. endless repetition. unrecognition. meaningless syllables 
strung together on soundless breaths. sighs. screams. wails, shrieks, 
cries. harmony and dissonance. illusory comfort. melodrama. poetry. 
emptiness. sensation of falling. hard-hitting landing. heart pounding. 
heart stopping. chill. breath in ragged gasps. impenetrable darkness. a 
starless sky. flicker of candlelight. eternal flame. altitude. depth. 
death. ice and fire; air. a baby's smile. a lover's kiss. a sword's 
flourish. the heart's last beat; the lungs' last breath. a lover's last 
kiss. the epitome of nothingness. 

i don't mean about your funeral, i've been to lots of funerals. tears
and words and hugs and prayers. little sandwiches and big flowers. so 
what? 

what happens when you die, what's it like? is it like the water swirling
down the drain? if you couldn't hear when you were alive, can you hear 
when you die? if you couldn't see, can you see when you die? if you 
were in love, can you still be in love when you die? is it like the 
feeling of falling you sometimes get? is it like being on a roller 
coaster, the wind in your hair, the restraints digging into you, the 
skin of your face pushed back, stretched taut, your mouth in an "O" as 
you scream bloody murder, your fists clenched tight on the handles or 
your arms extended high in the air? is it like the release of making 
love? 

perhaps it isn't like anything. perhaps it's like something we can never
experience when we are alive. perhaps there aren't words in our humble 
beautiful flawed language to describe it. 

endless patterns. knowledge. power. hunger, thirst, desire. birth.
death. sexuality. sensuality. sight, hearing, smell. taste. touch. 
feel. reunited. kept apart. alone. together.  sleep. dream. fight. run. 
fly. imagine. do. act, behave, react. lie. suspect. respect. observe. 
learn. understand. balance. limits, boundaries, abilities. humility. 
virtue. will, intellect, imagination. fantasy. ideal. perfection. the 
good. god. rain. snow. thunder, lightning, static. sunshine. light and 
dark. puzzle. mystery. enigma. waves breaking on rocks. trees. grass. 
leaves. flowers. vines. teddy bears. a baby's laugh. all laughter. 
shared smiles. trust. the absolute. truth. 



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