past anything so dire

Of an attained age that makes suicide beside the point.

to a better place

He wondered if he could enter hospice care without a terminal illness, and how long before they'd notice he hadn’t died.

nothing after this

Try not to die disappointed in the world.

long dash

Don’t you hate it when a name gets listed as “John Smith, 1955–”, like the terminal year can drop in right behind the dash any minute now. I want my dash to stretch out like a road that will end but not before a long ride ahead.

almost immortal

The closest one can get to immortality is when they can’t find your body.

after shock

If after death I somehow retain consciousness, I’ll realize at that moment how absurd life really was.

over before it began

His whole life seemed preparatory, and then it was over.

dead headstones

A cemetery is a waste of the landscape. All the headstones written in the dead language of those names.

first of last things

The first thing we must realize is that our ability to die is a privilege and not a curse.

to go that far

To die in a place so wild or unnavigable your body will never be recovered.

life exiled

Not dead, but exiled from life.