A Hundred Deaths

A Poem on Death, Scars, and Everlasting Life

I have died a hundred deaths in this life.
One could look at my heart
and see the scars from each one,
like miniature tombstones in a graveyard.

And just as a graveyard is
largely flourishing with life—
an abundance of flowers, and trees,
and birds nesting in their branches—
so it is with my heart.

Yet, just as a graveyard is
also filled with markers
of death and loss,
so it is with my heart.

But one tombstone is unlike the rest.
It glistens like the sun
and where death should loom,
the tomb lies empty.

Indeed, this stone reads:
“Dead to sin, yet alive in Christ.”

Yes, I have died a hundred deaths in this life.
Ninety-nine left scars that
ache to gaze upon.

But one death left a scar
that makes my soul soar.
A splendid reminder
not of death,
but of everlasting life.

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Grateful for you.

Grace and peace,

Ali

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Cover image: “Old Cemetery,” by Marie Egner