Oddities

Often, oddities prevail; The more certainties, the less alive. As good as beauty, just as fleeting, Though oddities align unassuming— What finery the world ever craved, Crafted as the ages have leaped. And to speak of oddities: The slime, the ooze, the unsightly, The ugly, the charred, the jagged, The mangled, the putrid, the repulsive, The repugnant, the unwanted, the frail— All undesirables: disease, poverty, hunger, and corruption. There's always a flaw. Yet we love to witness where oddities fail, Conspiring to defeat our cherished notions. Whether it be luck or a miracle, That depends on one's philosophy. We've never cared less, All the more, yet oddities abound, Regardless—like mosquitoes in the tropics, Haunting us, no matter the ingenuity Employed to annihilate our oddities. What starts sweet often ends bitter, And what begins bitter may end sweet. Oh, the wisdom perhaps in embracing Our uncertainty about oddities.