Purpose

from Out With Lanterns, a daily poetry practice

We are all meant for something. 
Maybe it’s to hold the small hand across the street 
or to call the number on the roaming dog’s collar. 
Maybe you saved a life once by offering to help 
or pausing at the light. Each decision is precious. 
We forget that one small action brings another. 
Meanwhile, cells divide and we’re fully unaware.
We breathe, our hearts keep time, none of this
will last. Life is suffering. Life is terminal. 
So why not laugh at the exquisiteness of it all–
never asking why, only searching for the wisdom
to remember that all you can do is be here now as 
you travel, one foot at the curb’s edge, holding up 
the palm of your hand, stopping the speeding cars–
so you and the child and the dog can safely cross. 

Photo by Dani Nantais on Unsplash