Meaning Requiem

It’s beginning to mean

Just sad music, just sad,

But be quiet again

And rest. A sense of peace,

Of easing into sleep,

Used to gather in it.

Its language family

Includes cognates for it

That indicated joy,

Well-being, happiness.

Makes sense. Life’s paradox,

Or one of them, that is,

Is that being hungry

Is life wanting more life,

But life is exhausting,

And so, while lives go on

Longing for more of life,

Lives also long for rest,

And so, too, well-being

And melancholy twist

Their roots with joy and rest.