The sharp eyes of alarms —
Red as worries —
Slap me alert
As midnight rolls over me.
Green glow of numbers
Watches over my patient —
A slender pale limpness
Lives breath to breath
By machine – more numb
Than a being should be to survive —
Yet he prospers and grows,
Warbles wordless sounds,
Blows bubbles of saliva
Or lies silent as sheets.
What took the Zen masters
A lifetime to learn
(And I still struggle to conquer)
The self dissolves to nothing:
No past, no future, only now.
He lives in each moment
Blessing all who know him
With his joy.