By J.R. Quimby

Life’s a poem if you make it
a song if only you could find the words
and a decent tune to hold them
a book with a plot that unfolds as you live it
and characters ad infinitum
even when you could do with less

Life’s a train that you find yourself on
somewhere between here and there
a carousel you always fall off of
before you get where you’re going
or is it the other way round
anyway you can’t stop it

Life’s a canvas that you paint
every minute of every day
blending a smear of colors
that you could finish
if only the world would hold still
for just a damn minute

Life’s a short story if you could write it
but there are too many short stories
so instead you think about yours
and write it in your dreams
as you wake up

Life’s a gift from God
one that keeps on giving
even after the laughter dies down
even when the killing doesn’t stop
and the rain doesn’t let up

Life’s a thing of joy that you love too much
so much you wear it out with your love
crush it under your careless heel
until that day in this place when
friends will swap stories about you
and your ears will not feel the burn