" and now he looks at everything as if it might be death.
Sleep, tiredness, illness ... everything."

and a poem by Michael Blumenthal

I believe there is no justice,
but that cottongrass and bunchberry
grow on the mountain. 

I believe that a scorpion's sting
will kill a man,
but that his wife will remarry. 

I believe that, the older we get,
the weaker the body,
but the stronger the soul. 

I believe that if you roll over at night
in an empty bed,
the air consoles you. 

I believe that no one is spared
the darkness,
and no one gets all of it. 

I believe we all drown eventually
in a sea of our making,
but that the land belongs to someone else. 

I believe in destiny.
And I believe in free will. 

I believe that, when all
the clocks break,
time goes on without them. 

And I believe that whatever
pulls us under,
will do so gently. 

so as not to disturb anyone,
so as not to interfere
with what we believe in.   

"What I Believe" by Michael Blumenthal, from Days We Would Rather Know.

Here is a list of books.