Life

"What is life?" we ask. "Just one darned thing after another," the cynic replies. Yes, a multiplicity of forces and interests, and each of them,even the disagreeable, may be of real help to us. It's good for a dog, says a shrewd philosopher, to be pestered with fleas; it keeps him from thinking too much about being a dog.

What's life? A story or a song;

    A race on any track;

  A gay adventure, short or long,

    A puzzling nut to crack;

  A grinding task; a pleasant stroll;

    A climb; a slide down hill;

  A constant striving for a goal;

    A cake; a bitter pill;

  A pit where fortune flouts or stings;

    A playground full of fun;

  With many any of these things;

    With others all in one.

  What's life? To love the things we see;

    The hills that touch the skies;

  The smiling sea; the laughing lea;

    The light in woman's eyes;

  To work and love the work we do;

    To play a game that's square;

  To grin a bit when feeling blue;

    With friends our joys to share;

  To smile, though games be lost or won;

    To earn our daily bread;

  And when at last the day is done

    To tumble into bed.

  

by Griffith Alexander

From "The Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger."