I like it when
They get shot in the head
And there’s blood on the pillow
And blood on the bed

And it’s good when
They get stabbed in the eye
And they scream and they take
A long time to die

And it all spurts out
All on the floor
And the audience shivers
And shouts for more

But I don’t like it when they kiss.

(Roger McGough, 1983)

What are clouds
but an excuse for the sky?
What is life
but an escape from death?

(Taken from ‘Shōgun’ from James Clavell)