*Life and Death*

Life is the inhale.

Messy, bright, and full of noise.

It’s coffee getting cold because you were laughing.

It’s the risk of starting,

the ache of trying,

the joy of being chosen.

Death is the exhale.

Quiet. Final.

It doesn’t ask permission.

It teaches us the weight of _now_.

Life plants gardens in cracked concrete.

Death reminds us seasons change.

Life says _one more day_.

Death says _make it count_.

We carry them both.

In every goodbye that makes room for hello.

In every ending that teaches us how to begin again.

In every moment we choose to love,

knowing nothing lasts forever.

Life is borrowed time.

Death is what gives it value.

So we live loudly, softly, honestly —

until it’s time to let go.