"Living Dead"

The headline said
'Sharon on the brink'
An Eastenders plot
Was all I could think.
But no, it was Ariel
Awaiting his fate
Former Israeli prime minister
Soon to be lying in state.
No idea if you were left or right
You were just that old Jewish bloke, right?
Seems he's been in a coma
For the last eight years
Can that really be true
I can't believe my ears
It wasn't the radio playing tricks
The poor man's been in a coma
Since two thousand and six.
If you were a pet
It would be a gentle
Needle in the arm
Put out of your misery
Nice and calm.
What kind of family
Makes you cling on like that
Days, months and years
Making you vegetate like that?
No matter what religion you are
That makes you a believer
Surely someone could have raised their arm
And shouted 'cab for Geneva'?

Dulwich Poet 2nd January 2014

( It was in the news that former Israeli prime minister was near to death, having been in a coma following a stroke in 2006. If he was a family pet he would have been put down. In that position I would like to think a decision could be taken to 'treat me like a loved pet' and go to a euthanansia clinic in Switzerland)