Dawnings
That demon death
By Nicholas Hooper
It’s been with with me all my life
that demon death
hiding in corners, under beds, over cliffs
and I say, ‘go away. I want to live.’
but it rests there in the darkness
waiting for its moment
I cling to life with clawed fingers
my nails scraping the surface of existence
and my thoughts racing down avenues of fear
as I try to run away, hide, get lost in anything
climbing up the trees of fame and fortune
but that demon of death bides its time
We don’t like its name
We say, ‘passed away, passed on, or just passed’
Anything to avoid the word
but the word is there echoing down the centuries
and we all know in our heart of hearts
that one day it will come to greet us
—————
About Dawnings:
“Every morning at around 5am I get up and go down to my studio. After a short meditation I write down whatever is in my head, giving myself fifteen minutes to do so. Then moving over to the piano (or a more portable instrument like my Ukulele when I'm away), I improvise and record a piece of music inspired by whatever words I just wrote. It is a great way of keeping both my writing and my composing going and I call these small creations Dawnings. They are mostly unedited, like sketches, so that they keep that fresh feeling of an early morning discovery.”
— Nick Hooper