A Larger Life

In life, the most important thing is not what we say or do, but what we take the time to notice. For me, this poem serves as a good reminder of that truth. And I frequently do need reminding. “A Larger Life” was published in the August 2002 issue of The Synergyst. I am pleased to offer it here.

until I disappear altogether,
only to resurface on another plane,
where my struggles are unnecessary,
and I am no longer an intruder,
but a participant —

a human apple set upon by larger teeth,
a handful of crumbled earth
trod upon by a multitude of feet,
an enlightened gasp,
a flame burning clear and bright —

no longer a mistake,
or a question mark with a burden
of knowledge to bear,
but an intoxicating expression of delight —

like words on a page
no longer strangled by their meaning,
or a hostage of time free
to run naked in the night wind,
glorified by all that is unnecessary,
rebelling at nothing, nameless, insane —

where the larger life I sought
becomes a child knocking on my door,
breathless, urgent, asking me to play —

when the failed creed of purpose
withers and dies away —

and all that I am is forgotten and embraced.