Zen Poem by john tiong chunghoo

i take to call him zen
i talk talk to zen like
to all the nature around me
zen can you talk back to me
there is a pause and i say
zen can you talk back to me
silence like the silence of nature
are you dead or alive?
i am such a bewildered dweller
i talk to zen like i do to
all the nature around me
nature do you have a mouth
talk back to me
silence
then this tranquil feel
this feel of zen reacting to all nature, to me
but no talk, just silence
then i say zen
well if you let me do all the talking?
zen zen zen i know you will one day
be more cruel, do the leaving,
not a sigh, not a word
so why dont you talk to me now?
i talk to nature hoping it will talk back to me
but like zen, it is all quiet, silence
i even pull his leg, i say zen you have
sprouted a mole, a wrinkle, a line here and there
and i say you are smart and i suddenly
feel a contentment manoevres him a little
but then i ask again, and again
zen is it my own ego boiling over?
zen, zen please tell me
till then you may stay the way you are