More and Less at the Same Time

You tend to see life softer than it is,
so much defined more by art and literature
than reality.

It is not that I do not see the harsh lines
and messy pain of what is all around me.
I do. I simply refuse to be defined by it all,

refuse to fall to the darkness,
choosing instead to see more gently,
what might be, what might have been,

what I want to create in this short life of mine.
Colors. Dancing. Music. Joy. Love. Kindness.
Truths more true than truth,

This way of seeing has served me well.
Less protective from overwhelming reality
than aspirational even when all evidence

says otherwise.

And so it is that I see more and less
at the same time. Able to see beauty
beyond the photographs,

Soul.
Not facts.

About this poem.

My life has been framed as much by fiction and art and poetry than facts and news and photographs. I am not saying that is good, just that it has worked well for me. Show me the soul more than the skin of things, every time.

The painting is “Drying the Nets” by Walter Launt Palmer.

Be well. Travel wisely,

Tom