And to die, 

which is letting go
of the ground we stand on and cling to every day,

is like the swan, when he nervously lets himself down
into the water, which receives him gaily
and which flows joyfully under
and after him, wave after wave,
while the swan, unmoving and marvellously calm,
is pleased to be carriedeach moment more fully grown,
more like a king, further and further on.

Rilke