A Bubble off center

“it is a serious thing / just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in this broken world.” ― 

Mary Oliver

And it can break your heart to be aware of just how broken it is…

Deaths out of time –

well, out of what our senses tell us should be the ‘right’ time –

are never easy for me to comprehend.

Whether its someone blessed with talent and gifts

in roughly the same measure
as demons and doubts

or the teenager in the ED this morning,

recently released from ‘Juvy’,

yet still imprisoned 

by overwhelming grief, loss
and the absence of hope.

A man-child who believed 

only oblivion and permanent darkness 

could provide the release from a life 

that seemed to hold nothing 

but more despair.

I don’t understand where resilience resides

or why it’s not allotted

in equal proportions to all.

Some days, 

standing silent witness to the fallen, 

shaking my head
in disbelief and sadness 

about what the world loses
on a daily basis 

is exhausting.

Yes,

today was one of those days.