A Close Encounter With Death Poem by Daya Nandan

It was the second day of Eid Mubarak as he was rushed in,
And on the spot we were battling death in hopes to win,
A 23 year old that chocked on rendang when he was breaking his fast,
Ongoing CPR as his heart stopped, an attempt to make him last,

The meat stewed in coconut milk and spices was out of his airway,
Yet cardiac arrest was trying to rob him of another day,
We intubated him as we were taking turns to restart his heart,
Pushing our bodies as we were at the edge of falling apart,

Cycle after cycle we forced his heart to start beating,
Ampules of adrenaline broken as it was death were cheating,
On the third cycle he came back to this earth,
And we saw how much the fruits of our efforts were worth,

He was back, his parents were overjoyed with tears,
He was back to live for many more years,
And as we smiled knowing he waved him from deaths door,
I heard an idiot say "that must have been a rendang to die for".