Rejoice, For Thou Shalt Die
Donald P. Goodman III
Version 1.1,
Rejoice, young man! for thou shalt die,
and dwell no more beneath the sky,
no more to mundane chores to hie, nor sweat beneath the sun at noon;
no more to grief and sorrow sigh,
in waking restlessness to lie,
nor shiver, bundled in reply to frigid cold beneath the moon.
Be sad, young man! For death will come;
ready or not, thou shalt succumb;
thy laughing mouth will soon by mum, thy shining eyes but pits of black;
before thou know'st, thy limbs will numb,
thy brilliant mind struck dark and dumb,
thine happy joys turn'd bitter, glum; departing, never coming back.
Rejoice, young man! beyond the pale
of death resides a finer vale,
a vale of joy which cannot fail, of joy beyond what thou canst know;
beyond these circles thou shalt hail
a joy beyond all thought and tale,
beyond all measure and all scale; beyond these circles, seek to go.