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The Definition of Love
“Are you at peace?”
It’s not far-fetched of you to ask me
in your prayers each night
and thoughts each day
The much-known concept of lives
swallowed by the living each year
Firstly, when we are physically birthed
and slapped into breath;
secondly, when we wake to purpose
and life slaps us into a vessel
for something greater than ourselves
The lesser-known concept
of two deaths is fully understood
on this side of the veil
Firstly, when our physical being
relinquishes the ghost for ash;
secondly, when our name passes
between someone’s lips
or thoughts for the very last time
In the final moments of life
silent oaths are made
within the mind to somehow
let loved ones know
we are safe
Yes, I am at peace
Darkness has not swallowed me
Each year, this resurrection
this annual conjuring of presence
makes itself known
These cycles summon me by name
the ofrenda and invocations
of Dia de los Muertos
keep my memory alive
and guide me home
Each moment my name is spoken
a rebirth occurs
from a history not forgotten
So, mi amor
peace isn’t the issue
that's not what you want to know
The issue is not knowing where I've gone
wondering if the grave you’re lying on
is a steppingstone of heaven
or a stairwell into the dark
It’s falling into the falsity
that allows death to steal hope
from a living soul
Yes, I am at peace
You have not let me die
that second death
And that . . .
that is the definition of Love
It’s not far-fetched of you to ask me
in your prayers each night
and thoughts each day
The much-known concept of lives
swallowed by the living each year
Firstly, when we are physically birthed
and slapped into breath;
secondly, when we wake to purpose
and life slaps us into a vessel
for something greater than ourselves
The lesser-known concept
of two deaths is fully understood
on this side of the veil
Firstly, when our physical being
relinquishes the ghost for ash;
secondly, when our name passes
between someone’s lips
or thoughts for the very last time
In the final moments of life
silent oaths are made
within the mind to somehow
let loved ones know
we are safe
Yes, I am at peace
Darkness has not swallowed me
Each year, this resurrection
this annual conjuring of presence
makes itself known
These cycles summon me by name
the ofrenda and invocations
of Dia de los Muertos
keep my memory alive
and guide me home
Each moment my name is spoken
a rebirth occurs
from a history not forgotten
So, mi amor
peace isn’t the issue
that's not what you want to know
The issue is not knowing where I've gone
wondering if the grave you’re lying on
is a steppingstone of heaven
or a stairwell into the dark
It’s falling into the falsity
that allows death to steal hope
from a living soul
Yes, I am at peace
You have not let me die
that second death
And that . . .
that is the definition of Love
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