Half and Half

Time ticks out moments,
Minutes, hours, days, years —
If we are fortunate.

Many do not get this far,
And the obvious seems trite,
But triteness is Truth today.

To be here at all is a blessing,
At the half-century mark,
Still breathing this icy air.

If I could utter any wisdom at all,
And that is questionable,
It might be this:

Place your life before you like an altar
And give praise, leaving offerings
Of love and kindness.

And when you fail, and you will,
Return to that altar, knowing that
Every moment can shift toward love.

Every chance you get, lose yourself
In love and hope and service.
Do not fritter away precious time.

By our very humanness, we remain halved,
Fifty-percent to fullness, but Divinity
Might just help close that gap.

We are incomplete for good reason —
It allows for that striving to propel
Us along toward unattainable perfection.

As Eliot wrote, the way forward
Is the way back, and the future
Is a faded song, a flower pressed

Between the pages of a book
That we have not opened
But that was written for us.

I think of being five years old,
Close to God without knowing it,
And returning there in spirit.

This world oozes with negation,
Find those who are additive,
The rest are just dross.

Live by that formula, that sweet
Algorithm of space and time —
Share a smile, give a hug, keep loving.

When you are halved,
Seek to be whole —
At all costs, do not subtract.

When the glass is half full,
I am happy to report,
You can quench your thirst.