Help her! – somebody – quick!
That is the rasp of the dying.
She’s lain dormant for ages, and decay lies in her bones –
Complacency seems to be her place of death.
Dually conscious of her condition,
She is a separate entity; imperceptibly watching herself do without
Things she can internally feel.
Ambling through life, she has forgotten the former and the wise…

She deals now only in the inconsequential – the trivial –
Queen of frills, not substance,
Mother of vanity – “here be sustenance?!?”
Aha! She’s neglected the source, the giver,
Neglected him who causes her to triumph.
Duality mocks her – wanting to change the staid,
Yet seemingly trapped within the halls of foolish pastimes…

Even as she watches herself from afar,
She can’t deprive herself forever,
Cannot deny those to whom she owes life.
She lives, yes, of course,
But a death spiritual is worse than one physical.


Chi-Chi Esimai ’08 is a freshman in Wigglesworth.