The Restfulness Of Death. Poem by RIC BASTASA

why is it
that to a pinch
of happiness
you get a slap
of grief?

why burn a house
to find
a lost coin?

what idiocy is
this
taking all the risks
finding so much loss
for a taste of
such a very simple
pleasure
which everyone had
taken

oh, you heard it
find love and let it kill you

find happiness and
die, find pleasure and
regret without measure

is this the meaning of life?

not the quantity but
the quality
not the length but the
shortest of the best
pleasure in there

why do we shy away from
the gift of pain
the trail of purity
the holy grail of mud
the reward of strife

the restfulness of death.