Dying

Once I am dead,
I have two lives
Said the cat:
One here (one possible)
One there (one actual)
And no crossover 
Permitted:
You must choose
Which one you want to
Fit;
Become right
Shape and size; 
Hear the cue and
Enter on time, in tune
With your environment.
Or, alternatively,
If you have a bent
For neither -
Step-off the edge, cut the
Air and freefall -
Find your own level.
There is no room 
Here for failure;
Bedevil your past and
Be damned - but
To climb out of the pit
Is impossible
If rungs are waxed
And ladder
Rigged to collapse
At the test
Of weight.
Step lightly on life's
Shifting sands:
Learn to relate and accept
The given map.
The door to Heaven lies
Narrow and full
Of strife.  Bear
The strangeness - bring
Yourself back to health
And life.  May your choices
Always be slight.

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