I saw a man approaching death today; The paramedics clustered round his side: Machines at work and heartrate on display, As death and life within his body vied. His lungs they filled with artificial gusts By rhythmic blows his heartbeat to restore His stomach rose and fell with every thrust A tide unnatural, without a shore The sober crowd stands distant from the fray No weights are lifted now inside the gym Some watch, some wait, some even kneel to pray Their gaze drawn even though the sight is grim Technology, we think, secures our lives And nature we can bend unto our will Yet lost life to restore we can't contrive Men helpless, mortal all, we stand here still. "Advanced" we are, yet still cannot defeat The reign of death, or its grim power cheat How dearly life is bought and how unsure In pain and peril brought into the world How swiftly lost when it is thought secure Soon flags at half-mast limply hang unfurled We are, each of us, just as close to death Composed of dust, we still to dust return We take for granted every passing breath And moments as if kindling do burn. Teach us our days to number, not to waste On passing pleasures let our time not spend Of fading joys let us reject the taste Nor like amnesiacs forget our end Placed on a cart, and he is rolled away A chariot that will to grave now bear Or to recovery and health convey If life still in his chest is beating there How quickly he's been carted out the door Now that he's gone it's quiet and is still Equipment and debris cleaned from the floor Yet bystanders to move have little will So music over loudspeakers returns For gymgoers' emotions to reset And smell of cleaning bleach the nostrils burns, So even floors may be made to forget. But bleach and music can't drown out the call: Return to God and down before him fall. "Memento mori"- yes, remember death! And fear it not, but him who gives you breath! For death is strong, but he is stronger still; And death's dark pow'r has fallen to his will.
Carted off, the victim goes
To a fate unknown today.
But as he goes, he's not alone
For paramedics would the life to stay.
Erstwhile, the onlookers,
With sober thought, return to sweat and play.
Having seen such fleeting breath,
Do they contemplate heaven in a more profound way?