Life is Good

They all say it,

so it must be true.

Hell--- it’s even found on shirts and hats

and ostentatious bumper stickers

Broadcasted to the world like the American Dream;

to remind them all that---

Life is Good.

You paste the identifiably basic slogan

to the side of your boat.

Because a day on the ocean,

brings you- potentially- just enough happiness

to convince yourself that---

LIfe is good.

You sail off, high hoped and covered in curiosity.

The ripples await your passing,

ready to see what you intend to explore.

But as you slice the water so easily,

the water resents the ease in which you find yourself-

farther and farther.

The hands of the ocean curl,

maliciously caressing you farther and farther.

The beauty draws you nearer and nearer to....

to... any kind of enlightenment...

that will allow you to set sail every day.

Soon the blue becomes black,

and the ripples become waves,

colliding, crashing, clashing

you back--- to the comfort of,

shallow water and slight breezes.

Debris scrapes and scratches,

at the ideal motto that “Life is Good”.

The winds tear at the support of the sails,

ripping away your last chance to return to your

dock, unmoved, statuelike, and mindless.

You’re stuck. All alone.

Wondering what will happen next,

constantly in fear of lightning storms,

which could possibly strike you...

What could be worse?

But in that moment,

when you look up, and you see the

magnificent light of the setting sun,

shimmering off the ripples that

once fought against you, and

---you jump.

Submerged in the water,

you let the ripples cuddle around you,

and kiss the edges of your face.

As you float on top,

the water carries you anywhere,

and you let it...

Life is not good.

Life is curious, unforgiving, devious...

Yet, magnificent.

The value of life is defined in

the reason to sail,

and the reason to look,

and the reason to jump,

all in an effort for a reason to live a meaningful life.

Kara Evans