Life is a heartbeat
The whole is a piece
On the train this week, I was watching trees pass by and thought how amazing it is that each green bough is made up of little leaves. It reminded me that all dazzling vastness is built from the small and plain. There’s the old saying, “look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves”, and the same is true of time. If we treat seconds as precious, we’ll value each day.
Here’s a poem it prompted me to write, about some other things this applies to in life:
Our world is one person
Their cloak is a stitch
A bank is a penny
One mile is a step
Your dream is a whisper
My book is a word
The sea is a droplet
Each year is a blink
That war is a barfight
All air is a particle
And death is a breath
If we look at the starting point in the kaleidoscope of life, we can see that each pattern is created by a humble bead. ‘Life’ is a big, daunting entity, as is ‘death’ or ‘dream’… but they are made up of the tiny things we can see right in front of us.
When we remember that everything is a sum of its parts, that our bodies are merely atoms, we may recall the tender bonds with which they are joined, and the knife-edge’s potential for them to divide again like dust. So, we can marvel at life all the more while we witness that dust as form, all around us.
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Whether it’s the steps you take toward achieving a goal, or being reminded of nature’s beauty by a single leaf… What small pieces do you see in your life that may build to something great?
This is beautiful, Katie! Your poem really struck me. I think I may print it out and hang it up where I can see it and ponder everyday.
I love your poem, Katie! I felt comforted and awed at the same time. Particularly the last line, "death is a breath" - a knot somewhere in my chest suddenly loosened.