Why do people die by Mykyta Ryzhykh

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Why do people die

Why do people die as volume and not as emptiness? Why doesn’t your dead body disappear when you’re gone?

Why does the cemetery boast of its crosses, and flowers cannot live without a mourning ribbon?

Agony is a very simple word. The word death is an even simpler word. It is better to remain silent like proud trees. It is better to drink silence like birds. It’s better to move through the air like words. It’s better not to live in a cage.

On a cast-iron evening, death knocked on the bird’s temple with metallic softness instead of fingers.

The night never ends anywhere. There are only two of us: me and death. I am always alone. Conscious death does not exist; however, as well as conscious life.

Originally published on Sybil Journal

© Mykyta Ryzhykh

Mykyta Ryzhykh

Mykyta Ryzhykh, an author from Ukraine, now lives in Tromsø, Norway. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2023 and 2024. He’s published in many literary magazines іn Ukrainian and English: Tipton Poetry Journal, Stone Poetry Journal, Neologism Poetry Journal, Shot Glass Journal, QLRS, The Crank, Chronogram, The Antonym, Monterey Poetry Review, Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, and many others.

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