Punctuating "Death"

Death adds punctuation to our lives. The difference between a comma's brief pause and a semicolon's separation can make all the difference in the meaning of life, or; death.

“Death, Be Not Proud”
Holy Sonnet Number 10, by John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so.
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep which but they pictures be,
Much pleasure; then, from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou’rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desparate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell.
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well,
And easier than they stroke. Why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we live eternally,
And Death shall be no more. Death, thou shalt die.

- OR -

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.