How do we measure life
Is it in the numbers
Is it in the years we live
Is it in the days we consume
Is it in the steps we take
Is it in the friends we make
Is it in the wealth we amass
Are we simply hoarders
In the vastness of living
How do we measure life
The best and the worst of us
Breathe the same air
Air which we did not provide
In our capitalistic society
We are justly categorized as users
We are consumers
For all the good we think we may do
We are still consumers
We enter life stealing our first breaths
Our hands grasping to take what life has
When we leave, we are still trying to take more
Thus, fulfilling our designated title, consumer
In the end, others will survey our existence
Others will summarize our gains and losses
On their weighted spreadsheets
Others will measure our life's success or failure
How do we measure life
Is this the measure
When I have lived my life
When others gather the remnants
When the sorting of a lifetime begins
When sentimentalities are distributed
And the carrions of life gather
When the bargain hunters are satisfied
Regardless
Of how others measure life
The importance they place
Whether I measure up or not
Matters only little by comparison
If I can find my measure
And draw to that line or above
To give all I have to give
To do all that is within me to do
To you, I say
Live your lives
Speak your truths
Help where you can
Lift others
Smile a lot
Laugh more
Forget the measure
Live
Life
© Ron Simpson Jr.
June 9, 2024
