CHINA TORI

Death keeps some of us awake;
not insomnia,
not dreams and ambitions,
and definitely not worries.
Death.

But do we die before dawn?
Death says no.
It says, “one more day.”
One more day of torture.

As darkness disappears
to give room to light,
there you are thinking,
“Ah, my will kept me.”
Was it? Is it?

You think it is your hope,
your attachments
or your knowledge of things.
But no!
It isn’t any of those…
The player just isn’t tired of playing yet.
It isn’t tired because
there is still so much forms to take.

Fear.
Envy.
Insomnia.
Confusion.
Stagnation.
Hopelessness.
Tongue-tied silence.
Unnecessary wrath.
Heart-wrenching pain.
Unexplainable agony.
Loss – of talents,
dear things and people.

So many more forms to take,
and in the end,
it gives life to its name,
Death.

…and that’s if you let it.

Image: Sam Moqadam