What Do You Not Understand About Death

Do you think death understands time
showing up as a final act
stopping the music
nullifying encores
 
That's not your only death
 
Some deaths are tiny
Staying seated when you want to dance.
Suppressing your opinion
Staying with the same hair color and style for decades.
 
Some deaths bury you three feet under.
Being the exact same person you were a year ago.
Avoiding relationships because you've been burned.
Keeping a job you loathe.
Neglecting your health.
Not actively striving to be better at something.
Convincing yourself that good enough is good enough-
when you know its somewhere between a good minus
and a bad plus.
 
Instead of fixating
only on the meaning of life,
or how to have an ever better, better life,
maybe we should make sure
we're not dying too many deaths.