Zest For Life Poem by Terry Collett

Zest for life
rather than death

to be rather
than not to be

to hold the hand
of a lover
and not shake hands
with a deceitful betrayal

to smell a flower
and not dung

to smell
a beautiful woman
and not
a stiff corpse

to listen
to the music
of Led Zeppelin
and not the cries
of the dying

to drink beer
and not the blood
of the living

to hang
about in bars
rather
than Purgatory

to love
and not hate

to sleep only
when the need arises
and not the sleep
of death

but sometimes
the zest for death
may outdo
the zest for life

to prefer
not to be
rather than be

and the betraying kiss
of hurt and pain
and loss

or rather
to smell
the dying
rather than the scent
of lying women

to want nothing
but nothingness

zest for life
for being

for the sweet scent
of lovers and flowers

and more so
to be
and not wait
for the dying hours.