What Characterizes Life?

Bodies born & change & die.
They live and pass.
But what is life?
What marks it out?
In my assessment it is consciousness -
Just being conscious.
If so, leaf must be…
Virus must be…
On one or many levels
All that ‘be’ must ‘have’ it, ‘be’ it
Till those bodies go.

I can’t think that there are exceptions to the rule;
That is, if life is consequent, consistent;
Essence, distillate,
Underneath all things that do a something by themselves.

I don’t know yet.
Can’t find words, a name, an adjective, a verb,
A sound that does it justice.
I know now – and only that.
And when I go inside myself
That’s all I meet

What Characterizes Life? 1.22.2017
Nature In & Of Reality;
Arlene Corwin

She has a new poet in mind
One she likes better than me
Fills up her time with mostly love rhymes
Satisfies her poetic needs

Leaving me stuck in mid-verse
Stumbling over all of my words
It used to be me that she'd only read
At what time did my rhyme take a turn for the worse

She has a new poet in mind
One that now fills up her time
Makes her feel special and no telling what else
Enticing her with the smoothest of lines

Never did I stand a chance
Left here with pen and paper in hand
He writes about rainbows and lord telling who knows
Where now she's his number one fan

She has a new poet in mind
Leaving this one behind
Could I have been napping when all of this happened
As I never saw the metaphorical signs

sleep isn't for the weak.

sleep is for those who hear "I love you" on a regular basis. sleep is for those who can intertwine their fingers with their significant ones. sleep is for those who can feel the warmth of a hug. sleep is for those who have someone to stay up with them at night to talk about aliens, indie music and politics. sleep is for those who have someone to admire them, even at their bedhead. sleep is for those who feel content, comfort and worth.

sleep isn't for those who stay up at night waiting for a good night call. sleep isn't for those who wait for a reply to the message they sent 3 days ago. sleep isn't for those who write long-*** poetry to someone who won't even read them. sleep isn't for those who cry at night, wishing they were enough. sleep isn't for those who think they don't deserve it. sleep isn't for those who have loved and will never be loved.

*go to bed, self.