A Thousand Names for Death

When the Hand of God touches down
to kiss the trembling earth,
a thousand voices scream out loud
to bring heaven down to earth;
Pain, agony, fear and loss,
disheveled cloches of Death,
how do I disrobe myself
and meet you with joy instead?
A body trapped beneath the rubble,
or washed away in a flash,
a newborn struggling with tubes and stents,
a wife languishing for her spouse;
a tree trembling as it loses a leaf,
a dog licking its pup - stillborn,
a young girl writhing with broken bones and heart,
done to death by a beast in human form,
an old man waiting alone, aghast,
at the slow decay of his self,
an old woman hobbling from door to door,
to seek the love she lost and forgot instead;
Oh! How many names do you own dear Death?
which one shall I invoke?
or should I just call you silently,
and embrace you, my friend of old?
For it does not matter
which robe you wear,
or how you come to take
each life that walks this planet Earth,
a thousand names for you at stake.