Certainty
There are more people alive now than have ever lived –
I read that somewhere and instantly thought it impossible
But if it were to be true, I wonder that, if we keep living this fast, no-one will have time to die
I’ve met people whose lovers died in war
And I’ve wondered what this helplessness could be like –
One minute there’s a whole life entwined with yours and the next, just a space and scattered clues
When I watch old films in which animals appear,
I get sad because those animals are certainly dead now –
And that certainty prompts my private epitaph and I have to say it out loud : “That dog is dead, that cat is dead, that horse is dead…”
(Words – GA Johnson)