Arlene Corwin writes

Why Am I Afraid To Die?

Why am I afraid to die?

I’ll lose my I, that’s why.

I’ll miss my my.

It’s all about the ego, which

Defined,

Means me in mind.

And that’s worth the examining!

So, how to do it?

Why not just say, “Screw it, for

It’s not important?”

Well, it’s inner pain, the seed of fear.

What is there to miss?

Belongings? Passing piss.

Family, friends? A wilderness!

We think that we’re in sync’

With lives and destinies.

Realities are singular: theirs, yours.

It’s all illusory.

The things you own are goin’, -

When, you can’t foresee.

You’ve no authority.

Next, there is the fear of disappearing.

Consciousness without a hope of bliss

Or at the very least some happiness -

Not there – forever: me, my, I dissolved to atoms;

Nothing but a flotsam, jetsam,

Maybe some becoming stardom;

Part of some unearthly system

We, of course, can never fathom

With no meaningful Arlene,

No me-niverse to be a part of.

 ‘Abandon…hope…’ said Dante, for

We are not free.  We’ve no control.

“Nope!” say we, and stay afraid.

Ego should be renamed let-go,

Letting-go from now or here.

So why am I afraid to leave this joint?

There is no point.

Ego Death -- Spagheth