Everything

Apr 2025

Upon failing,
Not a single being twitched,
The grass kept wagging and dancing in the wind,
The sun never ceased spilling its light all over the trees,
The air never stopped bristling our hairs,
The ground never stopped humming,
The creatures never stopped purring,
The lovers didn't stop murmuring,
The sky never stopped painting,
Its flourishes of clouds on its great blue canvas.

Flitting my eyes to each passerby,
They were ignorant of my existence let alone my failures,
They were engaged in conversation,
They were focusing on their footsteps,
They were breathing the cool, blue air,
They were sighing and weeping,
They were living without my failures even a component,
Not even a factor of their own lives.

In fact, the only thing that glances toward this failure,
Is the single item of the universe for which control can be exerted,
It is the most powerful yet oppressive,
Most brilliant yet doubting,
Most capable yet despondent,
Most impactful yet frail,
It both moves one and keeps one standing in place.

So, upon realizing this,
I smiled and watched the world go by,
I watched the squirrels scurry to their homes,
I watched the slanting light hit the towers of bricks,
I watched the trees reaching out towards the firmament,
I watched buses and cars hum along,
The bees bounce between flowertops,
The drinkers drink their ichor,
The birds tear the sky with their wings,
The flags scream in the wind,
The heels of well-dressed women click,
The chairs of restless student squeak,
The jeering of good sport fly,
The humble silence of a peaceful man,
And I realized,
How inconsequential I was,
And again I broadly smiled.