Be Alive, they say, when
I’m so Alive I Ache with it²
If you knew what Life is Worth –
You would look for yours on Earth³
Life’s a Flowering – and we Blossom⁴
Think about how Big it is to be Alive right now⁵
You Spend your whole Life doing no more than
Preparing for Life, thinking “is this all there is?”⁶
The Sweet-Tastin’ Good Life is so easily found
Way over Yonder – that’s where I’m bound⁷
My Life has been the Poem I would have
Writ, but I couldn’t both Live & Utter it⁸
One Life of so much Consequence –
Yet I for it would Pay – my Soul’s
Entire Income, in Ceaseless Salary⁹
Life is not a Problem to Solve –
But a Reality to Experience¹
¹ Jack London, Love of Life
² Alan Dugan, On Rape Unattempted
³ Bob Marley, Get Up, Stand Up
⁴ Irena Klepfisz, Bashert
⁵ Devin Shepherd, In Our Jeans
⁶ Terrance Hayes, Lighthead’s Guide to the Galaxy
⁷ Carol King, Way Over Yonder
⁸ Henry David Thoreau, My Life Has Been
⁹ Emily Dickinson, One Life of So Much Consequence
¹⁰ Soren Kierkegaard, quoted by Alan Watts, The Psychology of Acceptance