A poem reflecting on the choices Harry makes in Chapters 34 and 35 of Deathly Hallows.

By Beaker.

The Heir of Peverell Chooses Normalcy and a Sandwich*

They told him it would be painless—

That’s what his lost loved ones said, before he dropped

the stone that called them to him, and took his solitary walk toward death.

And it was—painless, that is. A last sweet thought, a sudden flash then—nothing.

No pain, no. Just…nothing.

He could have gone on….

He knew. He understood, finally, where he was, what choice he had, and that tales told of near-death are not just the stuff of dreams. He could have gone on. Gone on, taken a well-earned rest, retired from life, from the strife he’d never asked for in the first place.

Death would have been the painless choice. But eternal death meant eternal loss—for the living are lost to the dead just as surely as the dead are lost to the living.

Hadn’t he lost enough? Life was risky. Life was painful.

But love was his choice, so life was his choice.

He didn’t go on.

*          *          *          *          *         

The headmaster told him he held the secret in his blood—

That he, and he alone, could conquer death itself.

He could have gone back…

He knew! He understood, finally, who he was, what he was, and that tales told to children are not just the stuff of dreams. He could have gone back. Gone back, found the dropped stone, united it with the cloak and the wand. Lived forever.

Life would have been the painless choice. But eternal life meant eternal loss—for the dead are lost to the living just as surely as the living are lost to the dead.

Hadn’t he lost enough? Death was risky. Death might even be painful, next time.

But love was his choice, so death was his choice.

He didn’t go back.

*“He rejects fame, power, and immortality in favor of normalcy and a sandwich.” -- from Brooklyn Arden, the blog of Cheryl Klein, July 22, 2007. Ms. Klein is the editor at Arthur Levine Books who worked on U.S. editions of HP.