Five Poems on Death

Death Returns

Death returns: it found no resting place;
I saw it in flight, last night over the Sierras;
beneath the last sparks of twilight!
The condors wings covered deaths decent;
and glides now through the air in peace!
Yet deaths tail-shadow leaves at dawn, to
return at dusk, blue-bellied fullas
if it has swallowed a whale (once again).
The condor, the condor, likened to a fly in a web
death finds no rest, only new flesh, new flesh!

No: 1949 8-27-2007

Death:
The Roots of the Earth

Death has a way of saying Hello, when it means Goodbye!
We beings on earths surface never really disappearonly
Transform.

From the moment of death the body will change, you cant
hear it, it simply gets foggybecoming the roots of the earth.

No: 1950 8-27-2007

The Mystery of Life

How mysteries to be born a human being

and then to die as one!
To be able to wash off those old fleshy garments
of bark and milky-clay!
We are the honored ones(you know)
given to a whole world system:
one hand reaching to heaven the other to hell;
the truth is, we have two flavors.
Those who have not been born yet:
man and beast are not so far apart

(and very hard to please).

No: 1951 8-27-2007

Dialogue with the Devil

Ill make a pack with you, said He to me (the Devil),
I have detested you long enough. I first saw you as
a childthen when you were old enough to make friends
I saw you again. It was you who worshiped my kinds
of sinsthen you broke away, but now is the time to start
carving new adventures. I have left one sap and root for
youlet there be commerce between us?

I said back to Him, Dark eyed, ivory scandaled, there
is none like thee, among heaven, earth or hell; none with
such swift feet, like your tonguedark as midnight
are your shouldersface of a dead seabed.

No: 1954, 8-28-2007

Selected for Death

No, no! Go from me! I left death lately in her sheath
oh! Dim it was, for she surrounded me.
Thin, are her arms, yet such a gripthey bound me,

immoveable, and left mecloaked, as in a web,
a cocoonsubtle and swift she was, like magic, in her

binding.
No, no! I cried, go from me, I have still your taste
your scent, your soot, your ayehalt!
(But she wouldnt listen.)

No: 1952 8-28-2007

Death Passed Me Once

(1993)

This man knew the secrets of death

(he cast them over my head).
No man could know such things, unless

he was part of it.
And now hes gone, he up and left

(just like that).
I called, Are you near? and he did

not answer me back.
Then at the end of my bed, I sawwhy!
There stood in my hospital room, the

eyes and shoulders of a great being:
He did not speak, he simple watched

over me.

No: 1953 8-28-2007

See Dennis' web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Southern Buddhism