Are You Ready To Go? Poem by Michael Troy Buffo

A man passes on,
And you mourn anon,
Yet I sneak in quite sly.
I pick him up
And I take him to
His castle in the sky

Above the clouds,
Below the sea;
You'll find me everywhere...
High and low
You'll look for me,
But you'll never find my lair

You'll look again,
And again
But you'll search in vain
You give up:
You're unaware,
I'm above you in a plane

When the plane crashes
You will look through the ashes
For loved ones - all well done.
You'll say, 'Christ! '
But that will not help,
For I am not the Lord God's son

My victims may be young or old
To me, it matters not.
Their souls, they must be very bold
For their journey takes alot

The day will come when it's your turn,
Your destiny fulfilled
In Heaven's bliss or Hade's burn,
You'll join the local guild

When he's gone,
You say he's lost
To me, he is a keeper.
If you think hard,
Yes, then you'll know,
My true name is the Reaper

You say, 'Lord, I want ot die! '
He says, 'My child, please tell me why'
You say, 'Well lord, for it's so much cheaper! '
I say, 'Fine. I get paid by the soul! '
Beware of me,
I'm the Reaper

The crimson blood pours over your pale lips
You make an attempt to take in your final gasp
You may now be in death's cold grip,
But you'll soon be within my grasp!

I am the Reaper
I'll take away your breath
I am the Reaper
My one friend is death
I am the Reaper
As you drown in the sea
I am the Reaper
You still can't see me
I am the Reaper
As your heart starts to slow
I am the Reaper
Are you ready to go?

(Written at age 16, the original title was 'The Reaper')