O Death, Where Is Your Victory?

O Death, where is your victory?
O Death, where is your sting?
You lay your icy hands on what is not yours,
And give me cause to weep—
Tears boundless, cascading,
Like a river lost,
Crushing all within its wandering path.

You steal my fragile mind,
Leaving it adrift,
Unable to fathom
When next you’ll appear.

This uncertainty breeds tension,
A gnawing unease—
Will I endure?
How I wish you’d forewarn your arrival,
For I detest surprises,
The kind that unsettle the soul.

Dedicated to all gone souls