Life's Greatest Gift

Sometimes I wonder to myself what it means to be alive.

I think about heartbeats and deep breaths to survive,

But I know there is more for which we thrive.

I reassure myself with unsure certainty, 

That if another person has a purpose, why not me?

But am I to say a fly is as helpful as a bee?

Both creatures have hearts - but who makes the honey?

So yes, of course another person may push life ahead,

But another’s life is no guarantee I am not dead. 

My heart beats as fast as the next person,

But does that make me alive for certain?

Must I enact some measure of an impact to count as a life?

Must I carve my initials into every tree with an accomplished knife?

But what if that tree falls down - after I am dead and gone forever,

And that forest homes no person whatsoever;

If no one heard the tree fall - did it even make a sound?

If my name was my only a root - did my tree ever touch this Earth’s ground?

Sometimes I wonder about these things too much,

Grasping for an answer I’m not allowed to touch.

I often worry I’m missing out, 

Worrying about a death I know nothing about.

I try so hard to embrace being alive,

I do my best to live rather than survive.

But I often end up envying those who work in the latter, 

The animals to whom my worries would not matter.

Sharks in the sea look for fish to eat,

The ants in my kitchen hunt for leftover meat.

There is a beauty in that simple wired mind,

A blissfulness in being blind,

A freeingness in being confined.

Sometimes I wish I only thought of survival,

That my biggest concern was my next meal’s arrival.

But other times I see a blankness in my dog’s face,

One I wouldn't want in my own mirror to take place.

In some ways his ignorance is the greatest gift of all

But in others it is his greatest flaw

I do not know if my dog knows he will one day die,

His inevitable death, I myself often deny.

But I suppose I am grateful I am forced to know my fate,

Because it reminds me everyday is a chance to be great

Knowing there is an end, makes starting easy.

You know when something is, because it won’t always be.

And because I have the gift of knowing I will one day also die,

I know that I am alive.