It can come
abruptly like
a hit-and-run
ruining your
evening plans
or a bus
running late
when you’re
ready to go

But it can be
so much more

Think of it as
a one-way hike
down an unknown
canyon whose end
only you can know

an amusement
park ride so
scary you can
rest easy now
you never have to
take it again

a comforting way
to get even with
a life which
thought it would
always have you
to kick around

a final release
from the weight
of all your
transgressions
and those you
have hurt as you
slowly ascend
into a dark blue
realm beyond guilt

a time to gaze
upon your life
once more
in perfect
detachment
as you watch
its preposterous
radiance sink
into the sea

a chance for
all the atoms
you once held
tightly to run
free at last—
oh the places
they will go

a surefire method
to a new
and possibly
improved you