[Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/search/not%20quite%20dead/)
The phrase not quite dead floats between light and shadow. People talk about resilience, which is the kind of spirit that doesn't give up even when the odds are stacked against it. It is the gasp after the fall, the heartbeat that keeps beating in the quiet, the ember glowing under the ash when everyone else thinks the fire has gone out.
Living on the edge of sadness and optimism means one is not quite dead. It is the time a dream idea buried twitches back to life, delicate yet powerful. It's the fortitude of a person overlooked, undervalued, rejected but yet still standing.
At times terrifying; other times encouraging. It reminds us nevertheless that what it looks like isn't necessarily what it is. Still there is opportunity, still a possibility to rise again until the final breath passes.