Fall down seven times, get up eight, stop counting, die, and fall down one last time.

We all fall as many times as we get up;

if the two numbers aren’t equal yet,
they will be soon.

This goes out to the fallen, fallen for life, not getting back up.
You’re just chillin in the ground no longer givin a fuck.

It matters not the thoughts that the fortuitous think,
Cuz there’s no laser removal for mortuitous ink.
And whether it’s fires or harps that await us,
the ununderstandable forces that made us
patiently wait to someday negate us.

It’s a car crash and a girlfriend who didn’t think she needed
to wear her seatbelt on such a short trip.
And it’s a bang, and she’s unconscious before she hits the ground,
a startling gunshot of a sound that ends it for her,
and she’s flying out the windshield
and she’s never coming back.

It’s the last few breaths, short and sharp,
the last few breaths passed over frozen blue lips
as fatal hypothermia sets in deep past the skin
of a shirtless sobering friend
who stopped shivering and started dying
on a late November night by the Willamette.

It’s those last few blinks,
eyes going blurry, and a calm exit
as fatal hypodermia plunges in deep past the skin,
welcome intruders in this anemic bloodstream,
stolen so many nickels she’s got none left to give,
no one left to abuse her so she does it herself,
and she’s gone.

That’s a one way ferry ride across the river styx,
a timeless, spaceless void, and it’s got you in mind.
Meaning that your time on Earth, as measured by those
oppressive ticks
of the clock in the train station on Irving,
is free of marginal cost,
leaving you with no option
but to enjoy it.

Living is synonymous with dying.
So put on your jackets, buckle your seatbelts,
and let me give you a hint,
Run, go, just fucking go.
There’s a cliff waiting for you, and below
is a calm, clean, deep pool of water, and it’s got you in mind.
But it’s only safe if you just keep running,
maintain your sprint,
and if you don’t pause for a second,
without breaking your stride,
you jump over the edge,
instead of falling,
you fly.