All living things in the universe have an end. We are all mortal beings, whether we choose to accept this fact or not. I could leave life right now, and in this realization I let it determine how I live my life. It is not that I have a short time to live, but that I have wasted a lot of it over the years. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to me for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in recklessness and denial of my mortality, I am forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before I knew it was passing. So it is: I have not been given a short life but I make it short, and I have not been ill-supplied but wasteful of it. Life is long if I know how to live it. I then will prepare my mind as if I have come to the very end of life. I will postpone nothing, as one of the greatest mistakes in life is to think we have time, and will put the finishing touches on my life each day as if it were my last.

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours, or days. All the things we've collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Our wealth, fame, and temporal capacities will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what we owned or what we were owed. Our grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear. So, too, our hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won’t matter where we came from or what side of the town we lived in at the end. The borderlines and patriotisms we arbitrarily cling to will be inconsequential. It won’t matter whether we were accepted as beautiful or brilliant. Even our socially constructed genders and our skin colour will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of our days be measured? What will matter is not what we bought but what we built; not what we got but what we gave. What will matter is not our success but our significance. What will matter is not what we learned but what we taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate our example. What will matter is not our competence but our character. What will matter is not how many people we knew but how many will feel a lasting loss when we’re gone. What will matter is not our memories but the memories of those who loved us. What will matter is how long we will be remembered, by whom, and for what. Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice. I choose to live a life that matters, a life of substance, today and each new day I am graced with, because what I think and say and do matters to me and to those I share this life with.

somebody kicked over my sign

my opinion that’s way out of line

whomever you are,

you took it too far

and also your torched business is fine

09/20/2020

I’ve stolen your life,

your wife & much more—

& left you this note

pinned to the door.

Want it all back?

I’ll make you a deal.

Pay me in pennies

to make it seem real.

A penny the first day;

next, give me two.

Then four on the third day;

the fourth: 4 x 2

Just double the number,

each day that goes bye.

A simple equation;

time will just fly.

Do this for a month;

follow this theme.

It’s not all that bad.

(I’m not really mean.)

In just 30 days,

your life will arrive—

cleverly packaged,

in ribbons & ties.

It’s all very painless:

You’ll thank me, I’m sure.

It’s true, after all:

“What are friends for?”

So, save up your pennies,

then give them to me.

Don’t bother to count.

It’s little—you’ll see.

Copyright 2020

* * *

Day 1: $.01

Day 2: $.02

Day 3: $.04

Day 4: $.08

Day 5: $.16

Day 6: $.32

Day 7: $.64

Day 8: $1.28

Day 9: $2.56

Day 10: $5.12

Day 11: $10.24

Day 12: $20.48

Day 13: $40.96

Day 14: $81.92

Day 15: $163.84

Day 16: $327.68

Day 17: $655.36

Day 18: $1,310.72

Day 19: $2,621.44

Day 20: $5,242.88

Day 21: $10,485.76

Day 22: $20,971.52

Day 23: $41,943.04

Day 24: $83,886.08

Day 25: $167,772.16

Day 26: $335,544.32

Day 27: $671,088.64

Day 28: $1,342,177.28

Day 29: $2,684,354.56

Day 30: $5,368,709.12

I’m dying with the cowards

I’m dying with the heroes

and rapists

I’m dying with the barflies

and the sinners

I’m dying with you

we’re dying together

I’m dying with my dog

I’m dying with all the actors

and playwrights

I’m dying with the guitarists

and the painters

I’m dying with your people

my people

I’m dying with the cities and towns and countries

and skies

I’m dying with the warthog

and the Siamese fighting fish

I’m dying with the rivers and mountains

and music

I’m dying with everything natural

like I should

I’m dying with the flower, the pastry chef, the old men behind

the counters

I’m dying with millionaires and welfare getters

I’m dying with the children

and parks and playgrounds

I’m dying with famed athletes

I’m dying with animated voices from cartoons

I’m dying with designers and congress

I’m dying with science

and religion

I’m dying,

with

and without you.

when the stars blink out slowly

one

by

one

when the man

in

the

moon

no longer dreams

of

the

earth

when the sun

hides

his

face

to cry in silence

and

we

wander

over sleepless cities

because

s

h

a

t

t

e

r

e

d

constellations

cannot guide the night

nor

break the day

Moonlight, shine down on me.

Take me back through time and space,

place my soul somewhere safe,

far away from here.

Like you, I only shine when the sun is down and the crowd is gone.

I only shine when I'm alone.

Nobody will ever know your worth or glory, everyone's asleep when you want to tell your story.

Moonlight, shine down on me.

Save me with your tranquility.

You picked the petals from my hair,

And placed them on the ground

Took every thorn from out my side

And fastened me a crown

The hands of the clock read midnight

As you pulled me towards the moon

I wondered aloud if you would stay

I awoke to you at noon

Nobody is born to fly

we first grow wings

and test the tides

The tides gets greedy

consumes our pride

The forge, the hammering

The will to fight

blisters and withers

from rust to shine

As time solidifies,

strength magnified.

The tide we were quondam denied.

Took refuge beneath our arms

We’ve grown to fly

born dependent

Now we rule the sky

Embrace your wild

It’s the ony way to survive