Verse: Brink of Adulthood

what is it in this life that’s worth it
when we are old and grey
how would we feel
then-momentous decisions now seem but a blink of the eye

what are we to gain from this world
whose clammy hands grasp at the next best thing
it’s almost amazingly simple
actually
what we want and need are only ever-present in the warren of our minds
troughed but unwavering

what is this overwhelming sense of fear
divergent to a constant drum of serenity somewhere
so deep it feels outside our capable consciousness

in the end
isn’t it the soft that overrules the clear-cut knowing
yet some of us cling to the hard as an anchor in a sea of ambiguity
still
unless by some happenstance confidence has gelled the two
are these then the universal truths we’ve “ascertained”

- --- -- ------ --- -- - - - -- - - - -- - ---- - - (pregnant thoughts with hollow meaning)

enter high strings and important-sounding basses
but is this symphony we hear actually a concoction of our psyche
making sense of our being
and passing off dissonance as complexity

take a deep breath
and it may wash over you
hold it
and it may do the same (or even let you down)
what’s the difference then
between letting it slide and choosing your battles
the solitary distinction perhaps
may just be
how we choose to phrase it

[Written: 11/24/07]