ἐπειδήπερ ὅταν μὲν ἡμεῖς ὦμεν, ὁ θάνατος οὐ πάρεστιν· ὅταν δ᾽ ὁ θάνατος παρῇ, τόθ᾽ ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἐσμέν.
Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus

Whether it’s a casual game of chess on the beach
or a night spent waiting at Helen Rivington House,
when they suddenly say ‘I’m afraid of death’,
people may actually mean they are afraid of dying—
a slippage that’s probably not as bizarre as kissing
in a confession booth to Gesang der Jünglinge
or replacing a cheval mirror in the boudoir
with its Conté sketch à la Seurat,
with one caveat:
you have never tried to explain death
to your kid.

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More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com