Old lover

Old lover                                                                                              
 
Time upon me now like a dog
gnawing the gristle off a bone;
 
body shrinking behind a hesitant smile – 
at the mercy of everything that moves.
 
Undertaker in the mirror, dressing up a corpse.
Which way to part the hair across the skull?
 
Loose dirt under my heels will soon rain
upon my casket like the knocking on a door.
 
Let death and I be well acquainted by then –
an old lover with whom I’ve flirted for years. 
 
Holding death in my arms
and everywhere we move
 
I shall hear her shallow breathing
and Your deep, everlasting silence beneath.
 
O child of God, kiss death before you die
and (the Masters say) taste life eternal.
 
                              (from A Jewel in the Dust, 2011)