First conscious breath of the morning
Makes me smile as gratitude fills my heart.
I sit still and realize many others didn’t make it through the night…
Beloved death!
There it is: my own grief!
Broken wings of a butterfly
Behind a stoic face that hides her pain too well
Acute awareness of my unwavering companion
Beloved death!
Can you carry me past my earthly mortality?
Adorn my corpse with fallen flowers
Whispered prayers in this ceremonial hour
Adrift in a weathered canoe
Single arrow tip on fire.
Watery deathbed
Achilles heel of humanity no longer feared
My soul’s eternity revered
Beloved death!
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Andreea Austen is an HHA Death Doula Candidate and a volunteer with Margaret Bahen Hospice and Doane House Hospice in Newmarket. Andreea explores the human capacity to find meaning within the process of dying, death, and grief by writing legacy poems that embrace spirituality and mindfulness.
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