Thursday, June 2, 2016

Extended Warranty and All

Yesterday my brother Hank and I spent a few hours going through a friend's storage locker on the far west side.  It's a task neither of us relished, as our friend John was something of a packrat and had stuffed away rusty old tools and household goods, along with stacks of bills and mailing circulars (from decades past), together with books, records, clothing and other personal effects.   John was also into technology and at one point in his life he had spent considerable time buying old computer equipment on E-Bay, much of which we found stashed away boxes - in some cases still encased in the bubble wrap from his seller.

There's really no better memento mori than old technology - nothing more demonstrative of the wonder and sadness of our own obsolescence.  It reminded me of this poem I had written several years ago, which I have decided to dust off, slightly revise and read at the memorial service we're holding later this afternoon.  For those of you unfamiliar with sanskrit, the word Parasamgaté (which is from the Heart Sutra) may be literally translated as going far beyond.



Extended Warranty and All

for M. John Matlaw

Suddenly it hit me
As they were fixing my Mac
Trying to keep the hard drive 
From spinning 
Out of control

Like it says in 
The Heart Sutra
No matter how well 
Life suits you
Each product feature
Also contains
This indelible flaw

Parasamgaté

It’s emptiness
And nothing more 
The raison d'être
Of every body
Even with the
Extended 
Warranty
And all
  

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