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Death: A Commentary (standard:other, 842 words) | |||
Author: Sare | Added: Nov 22 2001 | Views/Reads: 3448/2227 | 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. Click here to read the rest of this story (32 more lines)
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