Uninvited

Death of breath  
A life must depart  
and know that I’m worried
O’ flutter my heart
An uninvited friend
With a present for you
Won’t know how it ends
Or what you’ll go through
With a when and a why  
Be strong or be still
The end has upended
The art of the thrill
No tang of merit
No biding my time
The prang of its sulphur
To render your prime
Of age and of tenure
To narrate thy death
Splayed out with a smidgeon
of destiny’s breath
Save you or fade you
or fester, perhaps
wither while emptied
to mentor elapse