how it comes so suddenly;
how it startles the heart;
how each one reminds you
of previous encounters,
holding the small of her back
as she heaves, the trial
breaking in sobs, dashes
and gut punches;
how it never resolves;
how it cradles every breath
when a memory inspires you;
how it is so final, so total,
so honest that you hate it
but understand it;
how it feels like a beginning
as well as an end,
a sentence with a period,
but closure only for a few words
and not the end of the book;
how sentimental and clichéd
it makes us all in the face of it
and how we all face it,
the chilling wind of it,
the brittleness of it:
Death.