Death be not Proud

There are lingering times where I'm very wrought up on the knowledge that one day we'll die, and I'll panic at the thought of it. During those times I might read of John Donne and specifically his sonnet "Death be not proud".
 
What I appreciate most about that particular sonnet is that Donne treats Death as a person. He issues a challenge to Death that it should not boast of its conquests of people or take pride in their fear of it. 
 
Donne depicts death as a force that is supposed to be “mighty and dreadful”, but he denies its invincibility, pitying “poor” Death and declaring that it will not kill him. Donne attempts to convince his audience, by the power of his rhetorical attack and his faith in the afterlife, not to be afraid of Death, saying that people actually don't die forever.
 
Rather than being a fearful experience, death brings greater release and pleasure than rest and sleep, which people use to restore their energy. Death not only provides “Rest of bones” but also “soul’s delivery,” a release into a peaceful eternity.
 
He says we awaken from death as if from a short sleep into an eternity in which “death shall be no more.” Death shall die then, but humans will live eternally.
 
Whatever awaits us after we die (I refuse to believe that there's going to be nothing at all) I take small comfort from John Donne's sonnet. It's something I want to hold onto.