Heeding Musicurious' Call for Submissions!

My friend, Zach, is trying to put together an anthology where writers find a song they have a particular attachment to and write a response of some sort, whether it be the feelings it conjures up, another verse to song, or a direct response (more information on the project is at Zach's site, Musicurious). I didn't have a lot of time, unfortunately, to really think about this, but I did get something to him before his deadline. I'm not happy with it (who really ever is happy with what they write?), but it is what it is.

Hands - "The Helix"

I am not alone.
Would you clear the dust from my eyes?
Would you recognize my voice if I should talk to you?
Oh, I feel so tired.
So wake me up.
I believe your hands hold the sun.
But in the deepest of my mind, I question everything you've done.
Give me rest.
I believe your breath fills my lungs.
But it's a thought that's hard to swallow, I feel ashamed I can't hold on.
Give me rest.
I will take your hand.
Just lead me through the dark.
I will take your hand.
Don't ever let me go.
"Be still and know that I am God."

Rick Gebhardt - "Someday"

In 100 years, I won't be here. 50 years ago, I wasn't here. But right now... right now I'm here. That's a sentiment with a very finite, extremely limited lifespan, at least in regards to my saying it. Death comes for us all--this we all know. We feel it, we deny it, we rationalize it, we ignore it, we fear it, and we try to accept it. Realizing that you have an expiration date... when you first truly swallow that fact... is scarring. You may argue that you lose your innocence the first time you have sex or the first time you willingly do something hurtful or the first time you understand that the world is imperfect, but you truly lose your innocence when you realize you don't get to be here forever. You will die. It's a thought that haunts, that drives, that depresses, and that guides. Seeing someone gasp their last breath sears you. Even surrounded by friends, loved ones, and care-takers, death is faced alone. Or so our rational mind tells us. But if we rationally know this, why do we search for someone to be there with us ethereally? Why do we try to convince ourselves so assuredly that we don't simply end as our body stops? Why does the collective human experience seem to have a spiritual component that defines our existence? Are we simply that deluded, or is there something more beyond the rational? We all will face that moment of truth, alone as we blink out of existence... or with a god of some form as we move on to our next phase of life.

I don't want to face death alone. Who would? I don't want to cease to exist. Who would? I don't want to end. Who would? So... I believe. But I struggle daily to convince myself that I actually do.