feeling alive
fall is here but i do not give up on life
i know there is a rejuvenation, i can see it
in the dew on the grass which is cold on my
bare feet, i can feel it in the freshness of the air
and the early morning sun which is golden and
sublime coming through the needles of pines,
my walk to the pool from my friend's house
where i have stayed is delicate and balanced
and beautiful, the waters are cold and i stand
on the first step for a moment before going to
the second, and then the third, and then walking
ever deeper into the waters which take my
breath away until i am then breaststroking through
the liquid divine shimmering translucence,
invigorating me
i go back and forth in the pool
as the sun rises and the birds sing
feeling alive
then when i drive to work,
the morning is in full bloom and
i listen to singh kaur sing about this universe
with such beauty it astounded me the first time
i heard it and i just laid on the floor in the living room
of a house owned by another friend, i just laid there
on the floor saying it's so beautiful, it's so beautiful,
it's so beautiful
this song plays now as i drive to work
and pass people walking along the street
where i first lived after i was born,
passing the memories which are so many,
passing the home where i spent my
first six years before dropping into
the curriculum of this existence
should we stop learning?
should we stop growing?
should we say to ourselves enough
and then consume our average allotment
of television, those five hours
wasted on the couch?
or should we get up early,
should we walk across the cool grass wet with dew,
should we tread into the cold waters of a pool that
most have left for the fall and the winter, should we
seek out the beautiful music and the friendships
and the health and the perspectives that allow us
to know, really know this gift that we have been given?
what is the alternative?
there are none when you see it like this
you have to rise and embrace life
and be filled with love and gratitude
for all that you have been given
