Life To Me Poem by RIC BASTASA

i have accepted some facts of
my life, some things that cannot
be changed, there were human interventions
to no avail

now, the sounds of nature do not amaze me
a baby's cry at night
a couple's fight, a dog 's howl,
a woman singing by the river
a man whistling along the road at night
a love call, laughter of children
in the park, mother's call to go home,
fathers smoking cigar while waiting
with their cars,

i do not mind all these
they are all the cause of my little sorrows

a child's birthday party i simply abhor
a baptism, the more,

funerals are welcome, prayers for those
who die in the wars of the streets
candles for those who disappeared
prayers for those murdered in the far mountains
domestic violence
and so on and so forth
all these causes, i am in.

that is life, that is life, without envy
only pity, a little sympathy and a literature
for empathy
for all the saints, and angels, amen.