Death Poem by Joseph Nam

It comes to haunt me today, and I shan’t forget.
Forever and ever, I am haunted to death.
The pain and guilt makes me sick and upset.
Death himself follows me, and I smell his wretched breath.

The tale tells, years and years ago…
I shiver as a cold breath flows down my back;
It may as seem as though my loved ones have come to show.
To kill and to get me to crack:

I awaken from my slumber and hear a cry.
All my hairs stand up and my heart starts to fail.
I tip-toe towards the noise, trying to be in disguise…
Prepared, I walk into the bathroom while hearing the wail.

“Excuse me, ” I yell, “Present yourself, intruder, with disgrace.
I assure you have awoken me from my sleep.”
“No! ” the intruder screams. “Show your face! ”
The memories and guilt comes to my heart to reap…

Stifled and frightened, I slowly began to remember my sin.
The scream is all but in my heart and head.
Paranoia or schizophrenia, it haunts me within,
As I find my destination, blood drips down with dread.
Down, down, down the mirror, the blood flows like a snake.

I am frightened and terrorized, all of my insides churning.
WHOOSH! The wind blows, whispering in my ear to look.
Under a trance, my head starts turning.
In horror, the entire room shook.

My mind, aghast, starts to burn.
I see what my sins, and Death himself, want with me.
They’re here for revenge, and it’s their turn.
The wind crackles and taunts hysterically.

All of a sudden, all things stop.
Neither a sound nor a peep is heard within a mile.
I can hear water in the bathroom; plop, plop, plop.
I look in the mirror, but another face begins to smile.

Crack! The glass shards fall, and a skeletal hand reaches out.
It chokes me until the very gasp of air is thinning.
I try and try, yet I cannot shout!
My vision starts slipping.

I tell this tale, which haunts me for years before.
In this cell I shall stay until my heart stops.
All call me crazy, though I know what Death has in store.
You see, ladies and gentlemen, Death loves to play with his food until it rots.
No one can escape His claws, so choose your time wisely…