3 of Cups by Nema

LOVED ONE
by Nema

Turn off the machines.
I have to go on, you’re holding me back,
turn off the machines.

I have to go on, to sever the thread
that binds me to earth
through my heart and my brain;
turn off the machines!

Have you not beheld me
as still as the grave,
with my spirit afar
and my body so cold?

Turn off the machines.

My time was suspended
both here and afar
while my shell and my spirit
learned wisdom anew
so that I might go on.

My time is completed
and now I return
to untangle the skein
of the silver cord’s length.

But my life’s line is captive
in tubes and machines.

Love is not binding,
love gives us freedom
not rooted in flesh,
it endures in the spirit.

You’ll soon come to join me––
and as you do love me,
Turn off the machines.