Because I Could Not Stop for Death —

He Kindly Stopped for Me

Recently I learned of two deaths; one was my friend's father, the other her closest friend. Death has not stopped for me or anyone close to me yet. The nearest I've come is an image I had in a daydream of my mother being dead. The image lasted only a few minutes, but it felt like the most painful cold I could imagine, stone teeth digging into me and icy shards surrounding every inch of my body. Now I know what's in my future—a dark cave I won't ever be able to leave. No air, no sunlight. No Mom.

I'm in the enviable position of being able to shove that image away, knowing that my mother is alive and healthy for an 80-year-old. I will be grateful for every day I get to live in the light of a world where she exists.

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