Created in the tradition of Memento Mori (Latin for "Remember that you have to die") art, which began in the Middle Ages. This work is in the manner of Vanitas (futility) painting, distilling the memento mori symbolic elements down to life (flowers), time (the clock), and death (the skull). Writer Gary McCarthy wrote this poem for the painting for the Poetry, Prose and Painting event at the St. Catharines Public Library, April 2018:

NOTHING

Does memory
survive
after you abandon your body?

Seek the answer, if it matters, or
read Kierkegaard - I’m sure he thought he knew - or, better,

sweep the floor,
dispose
of the remnants found
in your closets and refrigerators, dress neatly, bathe regularly,

be organized.

Best to leave the questions behind.

For nothing will change

when you leave. Family may weep, or question, or wonder,

but none of these cries,

nothing,

will fall on your ears.

Our lives are scheduled
to collide with time.

Gary McCarty