Why Bother Dying

Why Bother Dying Instead... Revisit the child within Ask if Van Gogh hadn't experienced the sunflower Would we know yellow and ochre as intimate friends Would music's rapture remain alive without Pavarotti's high C Coltrane's "Sheets of Sound" A Shostakovich 1905 Russia Could scented memories remain permanent Were ocean salt mere granules in darkness Pine needle sap but sorrow of nature's longing Darfur's wafts of boiled rice simply yesterdays past And what of touch Given freely by a baby's hand A mother's lips A feline's paw Is this not of permanent storage To be accessed anytime From the attic of our minds Forever willing to give Receive Can taste ever be forgotten from Virgin mountain streams Warm milk from mothers infinitum Brackish tears of joy Such as it is Aging asks to be but temporary Committing not to gravity Tissue disintegration Or synaptic malaise Relying rather on our embracing Time Allowing wisdom to nurture cyclic preparation Life's pigments layered upon a limitless canvas Give Time its due Colors will dry Purity of vision will appear Absolute and bodiless as horizons awaiting tomorrow's sunrise Awaiting another edge ever-changing For some Only denial For others The journey proceeds A perpetual hourglass Remaining in motion Generating new arrangements The cosmic sand expanding its window Giving reflection back to the sun Renewing fire Generating passion Fostering endless vibrations So Why bother dying