Life? Poem by Arik Carpenter

A forest grew
A river flowed
A man remembers
Who he loathed
Who he lost
And his betrothed.

Friends at his side
He lost his hold
Before he died
They had told
How they had shared
All they missed
How much they cared.

With his remaining time
He told his friends
“A great fault is mine
I tried to live not so far away
Now I will miss that fearful cry
She will pray
I make it on time
But we all know
I have committed this crime
And now our child will grow
With others memories
For her father
Would not slow
And that hateful green glow
Smothers my thoughts
As I grow cold”.

And so the child grew
He learned everything
He tried so hard
Committing no crime
But he couldn’t learn enough
To turn back time
When he started to cough
He thought about his father’s last breath
For it was his first
But he did not cry
He was not cursed
And his father did not die
He just gave his son a verse.

“Life is not meant to be lived in the past or future. It should be lived only in the present.”- Arik Carpenter
“Time is a gift given to us by god. Don’t abuse it; spend it with him and those you love.”- Arik Carpenter