Deathless

the Buddha was searching
for what was deathless
eternal  immortal

he saw all humans
animals   aging
ill   dying

he saw crops growing
harvested   eaten
turned to manure

he saw mountains   rivers
unending   lifeless

he saw the sun blazing
in the sky   a shooting star

he saw the universe as nothing  
always in flux

he saw himself no-one
empty   nothing   beyond death

finding nothing he searched for
he prepared to find something else
or nothing
at all

seeing nothing that was
deathless

he gave up searching
and sat

beneath a
tree

                   Kathmandu 2009