!Goretti Publications Gopherspace - Poetry
 __^__                                     __^__
( ___ )----------------------------------( ___ )
 | / |   _____           _                | \ |
 | / |  |  __ \         | |               | \ |
 | / |  | |__) |__   ___| |_ _ __ _   _   | \ |
 | / |  |  ___/ _ \ / _ \ __| '__| | | |  | \ |
 | / |  | |  | (_) |  __/ |_| |  | |_| |  | \ |
 | / |  |_|   \___/ \___|\__|_|   \__, |  | \ |
 | / |                             __/ |  | \ |
 |___|                            |___/   |___|
(_____)----------------------------------(_____)

The Paradox of Life
Donald P. Goodman III

To work, to fight, to die; this is the way to live;
true life arises only at the side of death,
just as to get forgiveness we must first forgive,
to breath we must inhale and then release our breath.
No life is worth the time, the sorrow, and the pain
unless it's given up; and death is not a curse
unless it's met without a purpose; life's no gain
if by its saving it submit to something worse.
To take life up, we must consent to lay it down;
to gather we must first be willing to disperse;
to smile requires to first endure to wear the frown;
become a slave, or never ever win the crown.