Poem - A Release From Pain

Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels

With the rise of the second wave of the COVID pandemic, many people have lost their lives. I'm sure many of you know someone who has been infected and eventually met their death. 

Last Sunday night, a member of my church died as a result of being affected with COVID. He had gone to Bangalore by flight for some work and as a result, he caught the virus and was very sick. Adding to the infection, he had other health problems as well, which mainly got him severely ill. Our church, a small group, felt heartbroken at his sudden death for he was a well-loved member. The night we received the news of his death had me contemplating about how truly fragile life is, especially when one doesn't take good care of his/her health.

I don't remember the last time I saw him at church or anywhere, and I find it almost surreal when I think that any given time could be the last time you see a person. It's really thought-provoking when you actually sit down and think. We don't know when our time will come, which is why we have to live right and make the right choices.

Thinking about our church member who died, I remembered a poem I wrote about death. I had written it at the time of my grandmother's neighbour's death which happened pre-pandemic. The poem reflects my thoughts and perspective of what death is. You can read it below:

Credit to my friend Steve for making this for me!

To many, death is a malevolent and bad thing, a cruel and grim separator that separates the dead from the living. And for the very few, it is viewed as a release from pain. Biblically, it is viewed as sleep, taking into consideration that God will raise up all the dead at the Second Coming. 

I see death as a release from pain and as sleep. People who are gravely ill or severely wounded would be in great pain. When people die, they are saved from further pain, and that gives me a slight sense of relief. For me, it would hurt more to see them alive and suffer from the pain. I have always felt this way for every loved one who I know has died, whether human or animal. 

But how does death make me feel? Of course, it makes me sad. Parting with loved ones is always sad, but when I know that they don't feel any more pain and that they have died having made things right with God, I feel less sad. If they have settled things with God, then I know I'm going to see them again at the Second Coming.

God is good, and all his decisions are right and good, whether he gives life, or takes it away. There is a purpose and reason for everything that happens to us and if we wait patiently, we will soon understand why they happened. When the reason for these things is revealed to us one day, we will be able to see the bigger picture and praise God for his wisdom.

Many paintings depicting death often personify it as wearing a black robe and having a scythe in his hand. However, there is a painting by Janis Rozentāls, a Latvian artist, called Döden, which depicts death in a different and unconventional way, which you can see in the picture below. I find this painting to be a very refreshing view of death. Death here is dressed in white and isn't seen as cruel, but as kind and sympathetic, and his reaping sickle is bent down low and unthreatening. 

Döden ("Death") by Janis Rozentāls (1897)

To my readers who have recently lost loved ones and friends, my condolences and prayers go out to you. May God give you and your family comfort. And to those who are infected, may you recover soon!

I hope that this post has brought you some comfort. Please share this with your friends and family, and leave a comment down below. I would love to hear from you. Thank you always for your support.

Love,

Arnica