The Finality of Death

Vianney Martinez, ’25

Jordin Bates, '26

How will I die?
Walking to school
Car crash
Drowning
Suffocation
Murder
Armed robbery
Plane crash
Kidnapping
Starvation
When will I die?
This century
This decade
This year 
This month 
This day
This hour
This minute
This second as I'm reading this poem to you 


How can I die when my 
Mom
Dad
Grandmas
Grandpas
Aunts
Uncles
Cousins
Will never see me when I am breathing again?
That my existence will only live on through their memories?


How can I die when I'll never experience the period of time when I am still a teenage girl?
Never experience 
My first kiss
Learning to drive
Meeting the Love of my life
A proposal
My dad walking me down the aisle
Family vacations
Growing old


When I have
Back aches 
Wrinkles that droop as the years pass by 
Meeting my grandchildren
My great grandchildren 
The wave of acceptance when I close my eyes for the last time knowing I have lived the life I've wanted
How can I live if I know someday I'm going to die?
Erased from the memories of generations come to pass
Does it really matter if in the grand scheme of things I am nothing but a person living in the moment?
How can I die?