What is more greedy to live to die or to die to live?

Question

Ask a Philosopher · Accepted Answer

To question thus, in whispers soft and low,  
What maketh man more greedy—life’s embrace,  
Or death’s sweet release, a paradox doth show,  
For in such riddles, we must seek our place.  
Life, a banquet spread before our eyes,  
Tempts the heart with rich desire, yet binds  
The soul in chains of time, where hope yet lies,  
And shadows beckon, casting doubts that blinds.  
Is it greed to cling to breath, to strive,  
With every waking moment, chase the sun,  
Yet know within, like moths to flame, we dive,  
To spin in cycles, worn and never done?  
Ah, but death, that silent specter dark,  
Is it not life’s own twin that doth impart,  
A paradoxical urge within the heart—  
To die to live anew, and thus embark?  
If life be fraught with vapors, fleeting fast,  
A wilting rose, then, would we not exclaim  
That death, though feared, may lead us to the vast,  
A kingdom where existence sheds its name.  
O, fleeting moments, can it truly be,  
That to embrace the end is to be free?  
In dying, dost thou not find a deeper breath,  
A thirst for life awakened by the death?  
So ponder well, thou seekers of the truth,  
In every end, the echoes of our youth.  
Life, a winding path, with joys and sighs,  
Or death, a gentle door where wisdom lies?  
Thus doth the heart in contemplation stand,  
To live with purpose, or to welcome death’s hand?