Dying: In Another Light

       “Rage, Rage at the

Dying of the Light.”

                               -DT

By David Blumenfeld

A gentle end at life’s last night

is a blessing worthy of embrace.

Why rage at the dying of the light?

Wise men at the end know dark’s in sight                                         

and greet their fate with calm and grace.

To struggle’s just a pointless fight.

And those who tried but reached no heights?

So what? Few do: it’s no disgrace.

Why rage at the dying of the light?

Wild men who sang the torrid sun in flight

in vain: No regrets in memory retrace!

Too late. Have a gentle end at life’s last night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

know death is just a step in time’s sure pace.

Why rage at the dying of the light?

And you, my father, there on sheets of white                                 

blessed me with your grin, your smiling face.

You had a gentle end at life’s last night.

Thank God: no rage at the dying of the light.

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David Blumenfeld is a former philosophy professor who resumed writing literature after a break of more than forty years. Since 2022, he has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize three times. One of his pieces received a “notable essay” mention in The Best American Essays 2023, another was featured in The Best American Haiku 2023, and 12 of his works were finalists or received other high praise in literary magazines.