To laugh is to love,
So start with a smile,
A memory, a friend,
The birth of a child.

Yes sadness and worry,
Death comes in a hurry,
But courage must stand,
And laughter commands

If you had a dial,
With a spinning needle
And one hundred spaces
On which the needle could land.

And one of the spaces was marked death.
And you do die if you land on it.


Would you, in exchange for feeling happy
All the time,
Plus the absolute ability to tell a truth from a lie,
Spin that dial once each day.

I would

I know death will spare
This love I have for you,
And free its form forever,
To float and fill the hearts of others,
Who listen for its beat.


I love you. I miss you.
I ask strangers if they know you,
I talk to you out loud on the subway,
I stare into store windows,
Sometimes for an hour or more.

The only point of love, and I do love you,
Is to prove to others the possibility is there,
To imagine everything at once,
To love without words or contradiction,
I love you.
Is it enough?

The temptation of quiet collaboration,
Friends often talk to friends in whispers,
Enemies by word of mouth.

Who to trust.
The psychologically slippery,
Those who claim they understand... you.

Women pretend that love is real,
Men lie and lie and lie and lie.
Yes we are the tribe who killed off all the others.

Walk backwards through life,
Memory, it's borders found by joy
The past is a Pinocchio, dance madly, be the star.

Stop.

Stop clutching your stomach
When you think everyone is watching.

Stop escalating, spreading *******,
Unscientific Trump talk, ignorance isn't a gift.

Stop worrying. A 2% death rate. That's it.
Yes-- if we have to,
We will set up temporary hospitals in Walmart parking lots.

Stop watching. The news has one objective.
To sell ads. Fear is it's only priority.
Constant fear means constant commercials.
Fear is a form of elite control. The 1% want you
To be afraid every hour of every day.

Stop fearing death.
It is the only common experience
That we have.
It is natural, it will happen to you,
And to I,
And to your parents,
Your children,
Your pets and plants,
The tires on your bike.

Nobody knows what comes next.
So stay in the now.
Which isn't really the now,
But it's close.
You live all your life
About a half second in the past,
Which is close enough
Not
To fear anything ever again.

Stop your silence. You do have something to say.
An opinion.
Yes you do.
So vote for the world you want,
Not the one we are leaving behind

Please.

Look at me.

Please,.
I'm begging you.

Just one...    more       time,
...
Or   one...     last         time,

Your choice...

Please.

Are we tethered by a weathered worn,
A leash, a lash, a love that's torn,
Why this end, we pretend again
Kiss goodbye, regrets and pain.