remember
there were times
of lying in the grass
fresh and sweet
with morning dew
and the smell of the rich earth
cradled us like an embrace
as sun’s light slanted
east to west
across your face
while far off
laughter rung
like silver bells
hanging from the trees
mixed with bird-song
to announce the morningtide
and quicken our hearts
as if we had never woken before
and all was new and bright;

why would one
ever make the mistake
of rising up
to enter the day?

but such is life
this length of time,
a stretch of catastrophe
strung with beauty;
a stretch of beauty
strung with catastrophe
depending on where you lie

so i choose beauty
and grab hold of it
like a drowning man
grasps a far-flung rope
pulling himself
onto a doomed ship
for the sake of a few
extra moments
to watch the tempest
framed in lightning
and stand in awe
of the fact that life
is even a thing
to stand in awe of