Arthur
over a welcome coffee
with old school friends,
a jocular chat about aging,
Arthur confided in me that
he didn’t fear death but did
fear dying in pain,
oddly he then asked me
if I believed in an afterlife,
when I answered in the
negative he seemed
surprised, which in turn
surprised me,
driving home I thought
him brave to have
shown his cards openly,
and later that night I felt
strangely privileged to
have heard such a
heartfelt confession
in such a noisy place
© Graham R Sherwood 09/25
David RL Moore
Sun 7th Sep 2025 11:45
Hi Graham,
talking seriously about death in our society seems to still be very much taboo subject. Unless we are in the hospital or the care home it is something most people avoid.
Personally I have never been reluctant to talk about death although I have been consious that others often are. I wonder where the reluctance comes from, is it fear of the unknown or could it be the intimate nature of the subject and our feelings on it.
My father often let slip (I think unguardedly) that he feared the possibility of pain during his passing, though he never expressed a fear of death itself, he was a man of faith so maybe that is why. As it was he passed in a peaceful manner without pain.
It is an interesting subject (for those interested lol)
I wonder how much ones love of life impacts upon ones fear of death?
Another quaint snippet of a poem Graham.
David RL Moore