A Poem on Life and Death and Life Itself

While looking at other sites nominated for Blogisattva awards I found Michael’s One Foot In Front of The Other. He died on the fifteenth of January having just taken the Buddhist precepts. His last contribution was this poem Fatigue. I wish I’d found him earlier…

Looking in my bathroom mirror
I see the steady progress of death
as he moves like an eclipse
across my face

My skin grows more taut
my beard is shot through with gray
my eyes are increasingly bloodshot
I can’t recognize this person staring back at me —
in fact
this stranger is scaring me

My physical weakness astounds me
my arms don’t listen anymore
my sense of balance has forsaken me

But, blessing of blessings
I can still feel the life spark
I can still feel the life spark