An Unbalanced Equation

("A Question of Balance", 2019, original encaustic) An Unbalanced Equation My wife is in the middle of her cataract procedure, One eye done and another to go. Generally, it’s a remarkable thing Which we take for granted - Both our sight and the technology to repair it. I think of the doctor doing her surgery How he helps hundreds a year And tens of thousands in his career. And the machine's inventor and manufacturer Who help millions Then compare this degree of benefit To those among us who do nothing positive And those who do plenty negative. There’s no comparison Yet we’re told by the scolds That everyone is equal When it’s obvious to even the simplest That we’re not. These are the simple facts of life We’re not all equal Nor of equal worth And in a just world this is recognized With either reward or punishment We live in such a just world But only just. It’s a world in flux Always a little out of balance As it spins on its tilted wobbly axis. And as bad as that may seem It’s exactly as it should be. Life after all isn’t at all about a static state Nor so much about balance itself As the harmony that comes From balancing the conflicts and contradictions Our wobbly tilted spinning way brings. This is our first conscious lesson in life after all, That walking is a series of controlled falls And that running, hopping and jumping are fun And that the way forward Can only come from trying and failing Getting up and trying again. We do this enough, Surrounded by enough different others And we discover the harmony The imbalance holds. (8/16/24)