image borrowed from squidoo.com
We never know how long we have on this blue ball,
which endlessly spins in space.
Never know our length of life,
or what will be our ‘eternal address’ after we’re gone.
And I still say that regrets are pointless,
when you know you’ve done everything you possibly could,
to prevent having them in the first place.
To make the most of it while we can,
instead of pondering all the “what ifs”
and “woulda, coulda, shouldas”,
to think about what we could do now,
in the time we have, today, to make our lives better,
or the world a better place…
wouldn’t that be more worthwhile?
I know that I’ve tried beyond what trying demanded,
and got left, empty-handed, holding the baggage.
But each time that someone lied, or each time the hope died,
and then that black dog of despair came prowling around,
tracking the scent of tears freshly shed…
and there the dream still wasn’t dead…
what’s that old adage?
You don’t know what you’ve got, ’till it’s gone?
Ah, hell, maybe that’s just some old, forgotten song,
trotted out in times of loneliness.
And we, specks of dust that we really are,
can define ourselves by what we DO with our lives,
or these gifts we’re given.
Some, imagine themselves to be a star of light,
a ray of hope in the dimness and shadows of Life…
which, by the way, is made for the living.
It’s not an easy journey, and oft times,
it’s a precarious, hard-won, knock-down, drag-out fight.
Some think that immortality lies in living on in memory,
well after you’re naught but food for worms.
At least the worms are happy, eh?
And if it takes a life-time to forget the important “immortals”,
then how come the lessons are so damned hard to learn?
~ C.L.R. ~ ©
~ Dragon's Dreams ~ 
I think immortality in living…what matters if someone you have never met 1,000 years from now knows your name…I’d much rather my children remember it and then it be gone with me…
Thanks, Jo. I agree, it’s better to be “immortal” in the present. 🙂
This was wonderful, thank you sooo much for writing, then sharing this! I don’t care much about immortality, I would just prefer it when people smile when I enter a room, rather than when I exit. 😉
Thanks, John. I bet people smile when you enter a room all the time! I know I do. 🙂
I really like this…great effort on your part to be concise and clear.
Peace,
Siggi in Downeast Maine
PS…I finally figured out how to add the gravatar…my cat Bianca ! Look for the cute little white face looking back at you ☺.
Thanks, Siggi. It’s tough to be concise and clear on such a huge topic. Btw, I really like your Gravatar! 😀 She IS cute!
I have the talent to poke the past unwillingly often and unreasonably, but every time I go down on that lane, the result is always the same- “If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.” ~ Mercedes Lackey … When everything happens for a reason and instead of digging deep into the time that we can’t bring back, we should build into the time ahead where we can make a change! yet, as you say, lessons sometimes “are so damned hard to learn”, but isn’t the challenge what makes life beautiful?
Thanks, Blaga. 🙂 That’s a great quote by a great author. Unlike many, I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason…sometimes sh*t just happens…it’s the nature of Chaos Theory. And yet, I do believe in the Butterfly Effect. Challenge…I suppose it could be looked at as one of the things which makes life beautiful and worthwhile, I just wish it wasn’t so tough sometimes.
Tremendous depth here, Corina. Some wise words indeed. Oh hey, congratulations on the Creative Challenge result! Awesome. Told ya the group wasn’t that scary, sister 😉
Thank you x2, Luke. 🙂 No, the group isn’t that scary. It was a genuine surprise and honor to be part of the Challenge. Thanks again for the invite.
Oh, do feel free to post future poems on the board 🙂 Liking that you’re breaking your lines out of rhyming quatrains
I will. I just have to find the right one to post. Yes, it feels good to do it differently, even if it feels clumsy.
questions on death and how that effects us in our daily lives. i think much in how we are and interact is dependent on how ‘close’ that reality sits with our vision.
bring up some good points, and for many and most the matter is handled with blinders. forget realities of death and find comfort in belief — shared delusion on continued existence. which might be ‘right’ — who knows. though myself, understand that the EASY road is that delusion, that wish that forever is the anti-thesis of death.
mostly in the forum of reality, helps to see death as not a singular event, but part of the process. making-way for the next and the next. which if those before us had NOT made-way, we ourselves would not be here.
so, i see those that wish for ‘eternal life’ as EXCEEDINGLY selfish in the light or disclosure that they “refuse to make-way.” you don’t see the leaves on a tree shine any less brighter, in their knowledge that they have but one season.
so my answer to some of your questions … i don’t believe in existentialism, and i don’t ‘believe’ in the soup that is ‘religion.’ somewhere in between, but it’s really up up and away. we are the summation of our actions. ‘being’ is simply the gift to see that in true form.
😀 I love this comment. Thanks so much for coming by, E. You always help me put things into perspective, for which I am grateful.
sometimes i think i push my views too much, Dragon …. and of course failed to say you did a nice job with this piece. sort of implied when you bring about so many thoughts with it. 🙂 doesn’t excuse. i like how you shore a soft-sell with so much logic that it becomes common sense. and the subtle use of rhyme.
often wonder if the drive to write is the drive to be immortal. maybe prioritizing mind over body.
Thanks, E. I don’t think you push your views too much…or if you do, I certainly don’t mind a bit. 😉 That’s an interesting question re: the drive to write. Prioritizing mind over body…yes, I suppose thoughts and writing can indeed be ‘immortal’…assuming that they are archived on material that will still be around in the nebulous future. 🙂 Personally, I think paper books will probably always be around, despite the massive shift to technology. They may be in a museum (lol) but they will still be around. 🙂
I agree, regrets are a waste of time, Corina. I was quick to also agree with your statement of being left empty handed but stopped myself..no, I wasn’t empty handed…maybe materially but I was left with my dignity and integrity…as much as I possess. This felt like a stream of consciousness wondering to yourself about just what does this world all mean. I like the kick of anger throughout too. Yeah, why are the lessons so damned hard..it’s not an easy journey at all. I feel kind of crusty and cynical sometimes… Well done…really got me thinking..and remembering.
Thanks for your thoughts, Gayle. You are right – even through the pain and hardships, we are not left empty-handed. I forget that, sometimes. You were spot-on about it being a stream of consciousness write about what it all means. Know what you mean about feeling crusty and cynical sometimes…lol…it can be a real challenge to stay ‘above’ it and stay ‘centered’…I do okay, most days, but sometimes….eh, well, you know. 🙂