Balance

a birth
a death
the joy of one does not diminish
the pain of the other
two separate events
opposite poles of existence’
continuum
and yet
connected by this slender thread
called life
we peg our way
from beginning to end
full knowing what awaits us
we’ve seen it all before
clinging to those fat moments
time spent with
fellow travelers
and revelers
until we are reduced by
time and age
and circumstance
unable to resist
the turning of our days
once again to Mother Earth