Death I have seen you
I have seen you in your finest hour
Decisive, swift, unyielding
A general’s sword dealing out mortality
I have seen you in the worst of light
Cowering in fear and pain
A rapist callously robbing innocence
I have seen you through a merciful eye
Sparing, kind and compassionate
A peaceful whisper in the night
I have seen you as ruthless
Daunting, cold and pitiless
A child screaming vainly through smoke and flame
I have seen you as inopportune
Unrepentantly disconcerting
A youth succumb to fate
I have seen you as a welcomed friend
Judiciously met, salutations
A rope grasping finality as a warm handshake
I have seen your many faces
Unfettered unprejudiced
A cold glance inevitably to meet our gaze
~Arnold Bailey