I first glimpsed death
In a hospital bed
His eyes were blue
But his hands were red

He wore the bleak expression
Of a dying man
He began to speak
But first, I ran

We met once more
On a mountain pass
Where he handed me
A broken glass

I asked him
What the glass was for
But even he
Wasn’t sure

Death visited again
Late last night
And he held my hand
Up to the light

He leaned in close
So only I could hear
And he asked
“What is it that you fear?”

“You”
I replied
Decisively
“More than anything else,
You terrify me”

“Me?
He frowned
down at his shoes
“You know,
I only bear the news”

Again
Death asked
“What do you fear?”
I stared
“Do you truly
Want to hear?”

So I thought up the best answer
I could compose
“I fear the monsters
That live in your shadows”

I searched his expression
Looking for some clue
Finally he whispered
“I fear them too”