Revelations: Africa in Poetry

Death

121 Death Death never satiates It reaps where it never scattered a seed And takes away even those who are unwilling to go Death never satiates It swallows up the old, the young, and the unborn It snatches away the beauty and the ugly It respects no king, no prince, no princess It spares no creature as if it is the owner of all life Death never satiates If it grows fat, then death must be the fattest If it grows strong, then death must be the strongest If it is a warrior, then death must be the most skillful warrior If it is a hero, then death must be the hero of all heroes If it is a container, then death must be the biggest of all containers Come life, goes life Like wind that passes by silence life is swept away Like morning dew that evaporates at sunrise life disappears Like bright flower that withers at midday life perishes All in the name of death Death never satiates! This death that never satiates! A fearful creature it must be For no man, no woman can stop it 122 No injection, no medicine can conquer it This death that never satiates! ...