Death Be Not Proud (Holy Sonnet X)

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

--John Donne (1572-1631), from Holy Sonnets, 1633

Scripture reference: 1 Corinthians 15:26

Photo: Victory over death, churchyard of the Cathedral of St. Michael and All Archangels, Christchurch, Barbados, July, 2013.