Death appears (The Voice of Duty)

When duty dies does it go with the satisfaction of tasks well done?

Of praise for adherence and the chance of pleasing someone?

Does it go with the assurance of a life well-lived?

Or does it wish to have been freed of the shackles it had worn?

I died grieving at all my life had been

I had no wish for kindness or understanding

I had no place for them, they were not mine to have

I had no place for hope, it was not mine to have

I sought favour from the only one who mattered
He scorned me mercilessly, hurt me till I could feel no more

I saw oncoming death in the eyes of those around me

Exaggerated kindnesses and the names of gods repeated

He sat by my side, tears brimming, why

Why now, I wanted to ask, but the words did not appear
Shimmer of tears quickly wiped away, shoulders slumped
He got up like a man defeated and walked away

Did my life live up to its promise?

I yearned for love, I feared rejection and loss

I feared scorn but earned little else

I wished for understanding, that, I regret

I neither received nor was I able to give

I do not wish for more life

Unlike those who grip tight unto last breath

I shall slip away peacefully

Into the certainty of death