Death Nesting - Every Life Rehearses Death

Lay me down in the earth tonight, just to see how the darkness feels. Close my eyes, let the silence bite, teach me which of the wounds will heal. Taste the dirt on the tongue of night, let the smoke fill the lung. Every breath is a sharpened rite, every death has a song unsung. This is the practice, a rehearsal for the grave. Learn the dark where the body’s laid. Practice dying, breath by breath, every life rehearses death. Wash my hands in the river’s cold, smoke of sage on my weary skin. Every step is a debt I owe, every loss is a folded hymn. Breathe it in, the soil, the stone, hear the worms sing their low refrain. Every breath rehearses a grave. This is the practice, a rehearsal for the grave. Learn the dark where the body’s laid. Practice dying, breath by breath, every life rehearses death. Lay me down, not to stay, just to learn the dying way. One day I won’t rise again, but I’ll know the road well by then.