Death, As Usual

 Death

As Usual 

Nearly eight billion people 

I am merely a speck in this vastness 

My circle of contact 

Is around a thousand 

Still, just a speck 

In the abundance of life 

Teeming upon the earth 

With four point three births 

And two point zero deaths 

Occurring every second 

Someone somewhere 

Is experiencing the joy of life 

As well as the pain of death 

As usual 

It is not my aim here 

To minimize 

The tragedy of death 

Or to trivialize 

It’s accompanying grief 

Quite the opposite, in fact 

I am seeking to point out 

Death is integral to living 

To never lose is never to love 

To never care is never to grieve 

To never love is never to live 

And to quote JM Barrie 

“To live will be an awfully big adventure”

So, live 

Love 

Care 

Make friends 

Lose 

Hurt 

Weep 

Grieve 

As usual 

Do not be swallowed 

By the looming vastness 

Live raucously as a usual state

Love recklessly as a normality 

Do not be consumed 

By death as usual 

Shine your light 

Share your voice 

Write your words 

Sing your songs 

Feel your emotions 

(All of them) 

Live your uncommon life 

Express your unique passion 

Be Extraordinary 

As usual 

© Ron Simpson Jr.

May, 25, 2024 

Life

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

Days

If someone could have told me

These would be the days we would have

If I could have known the precise number

The exact amount of time we would share

If this day would come and not catch me unaware

Still, it would not be enough 

And my heart would cry for one more

As a child, we see life as infinite

What is has always been and will always be

Life tries to take that illusion away quickly

So our heart rationalizes loss to others

And we will always be 

We spent days on top of days together

We made magic in the eyes of a child

We made playhouses out of sheets and blankets

We made tree houses and pancakes

We made paper airplanes and memories

You tended to my needs and wants

You tended to me when I was sick

You tended to my cuts, scrapes, and bruises

You tended to my heart when it was broken

You carried me when I sleeping

You carried me when I was hurt

You carried me in your arms

You carried me on your back

You carried me on your shoulders

You carried me always in your heart

You taught me reading and math

You taught me how to fish

You taught me how to drive

You taught me how to be brave

You showed me tricks

You showed me lessons

You showed me dangers

You showed me love

I called to you from the crib by your bed

I called to you from the room down the hall

I called you from my broken down car

I called you from my own apartments and homes

I called you and you answered

You stood with me as I took my first steps

You stood with me on my first day at school

You stood for endless photos at graduations 

You stood with me when I married

You were one of my life's constants

You were never too far away 

You were never too busy in an emergency 

You always did whatever you could do

And it was usually just enough

Today

Hurt clouds the mountain of joy we shared

Sorrow obscures the sunshine from our time

Pain stains the fabric of our life shared

Today

I have exhausted my supply of ‘one mores’

While, 

We will make no more magic

There is magic to be made 

From our treasure trove

Of “Abracadabra’s” and “Alakazam's”

While, 

We will make no more pancakes together 

Or paper airplanes, or memories

I still have my lifetime of memories 

To tend to me

To carry me

To teach me

To show me

To answer me

To stand with me

It seems all of life has lost its order

But, you taught me 

Days will come

Days will pass

Life goes on

I will find your hand

Within countless memories

And we will walk and talk

In the days to come

You will never cease to be ‘my Dad’

I will always be ‘your little girl’

© Ron Simpson, Jr. 

Real

Wow, twenty years 

It was twenty years ago 

In front of family and friends 

We stood and made promises 

One to the other 

In those twenty years 

(And the eighteen months before)

There had been hard times 

There has been raucous laughter 

There have been bitter tears 

We have endured sad times 

We have held hands and hearts 

While saying goodbye to loved ones 

Family and friends alike 

There have been celebrations 

We shared with our plethora of kids 

There were times we simply held them 

As their lives and hearts were broken 

There have been joyous welcomings 

As we added to our still growing family 

There have been heart rending moments 

As some gained wings before joining us 

We have been through the gamut 

Of joys and of sorrows 

While keeping the promises 

We wrote and spoke twenty years ago 

Still, there are times 

Sometimes late in the night 

I’ll reach over in the bed 

And I’ll simply touch you 

There are still times 

When passing you in the hall

Or in the kitchen

Or sitting at a window 

I’ll reach out gently 

And touch your shoulder 

Or caress your back 

Or stroke your hair 

I’ll give you a quick hug 

Or three quick kisses 

Or hold your hand briefly 

Just to be absolutely sure 

You are real 

This is real 

My heart believes 

And simultaneously 

Cannot believe 

This is real

Twenty years plus 

I’m still not sure 

How I deserve you 

And all of this 

So, I’ll keep checking 

With a touch 

With a caress 

With three quick kisses 

Real 

Ron Simpson Jr 

October 8, 2023 

(In anticipation of 

October 11, 2023