Date Published: 06/29/09
Death Where Is Thy Fang?
By Dr Olusegun Fakoya
I woke up all melancholic this morning. I could feel it in the air, the tangible but indecipherable presence. Everything looks gloomy, the weather humid and uncomfortable and the sun refusing to come out of its covering cloud. Familiar tunes coming out of the radio failed to make an impression. I could feel it in my body and my dread increased three-fold. What a day to go through. Reluctantly, I got off the bed for my morning chores and in came my daughter looking so downcast that I my dread increased thousand fold. Sweet beautiful soul who felt that daddy must share in her sadness. She has been grieving, grieving for the departed pop icon, an electrifying but confused soul. My daughter announced the death of Michael Jackson as covered by various news media that morning. While I was peacefully asleep, it appeared that the world has been bombarded with the news of the sudden death of Michael Jackson.
What is it about death that brings about the sober aspect of human nature? Why does it take the death of another man for us to realise our ephemeral nature? Life can be all encompassing and in the struggle of existence we tend to forget the unreality of existence. That our journey on this plane is like that of a man passing through a market place is lost on us. And when life is so sweet with abundant wealth and possibly good health, we often wish it turns to an unending journey. Yet history has taught us that no man has ever failed to pay the ultimate price. Even in the Biblical days of old when men are reported to live for hundreds of years, death remained a constant presence. Whether a life was well lived or badly lived, death remains the final arbiter. The fang of death hangs around every man’s shoulder, sleeping and waking with each. The process called death has remained a burden that man has failed to shake off. In frustration, a poet asked: death where is thy fang?
It is inconsolable to lose a beloved friend, acquaintance or relation. While the corpse of the man in the street is just like a piece of wood, it is almost catastrophic to lose a loved one. The process of grieving never ends in some cases, when we refuse to let go of a departed soul. It is thus a testimony of the human nature when the death of someone, never seen or behold by so many in the physical, only interacted with by the vast majority through his music, evoked so much worldwide sadness and grief. It si a testimony to the greatness of Michael Jackson, that despite the confusion of identity and wholesome bizarreness which characterised the greater part of his life, his end was a worldwide catastrophe. For a single man to touch so many is a testimony of a great soul indeed. The world has lost another icon, never to come again in so many generations. While we grieve at our own immortality, may we spare a thought for his family and especially his children. His cycle came to a full end in this existence and his soul gone back to continue the struggle in a higher dimension.
Perhaps we would all not grieve so much if the message of death has sunk in amongst so many. Death has so dwelled with man through the ages that it so much of a surprise that we still have not got the message. We walk like a man with layers of clothing covering his face. We presume ourselves to be wide awake with clarity of vision but in reality asleep and in a deep slumber. Great philosophers of old all pondered on our blindness. They all left messages that should have convinced mankind that death is not real. Death is nothing but an illusion. It is an illusion given prominence by the stupidity of man.
