life is so hard
and then it’s beautiful.
it toys with us playing a childish game
of ups and downs,
peaks and valleys,
highs and lows.
it’s foolishness and frolic,
camouflaged by the laughter of children
and the chill of despair.
it’s filled with an unquenching thirst and hunger,
yet often satisfying and comfortable.
it’s celebrating and crying,
sometimes all at once,
sometimes in spurts.
it can be routine and mundane,
but also exhilarating and exhausting,
filled with new births
and old souls,
wisdom and wishes,
mindset and mayhem,
attitude and gratitude.
all designed to keep us on our toes,
balanced through chaos,
as we follow the steps of the dance.
life is reality and daydreams
wrapped in a gift
we sometimes never open.
it’s waking up and settling down,
discovering and protecting.
and is both breathtaking
and heart-wrenching.
it’s learning and laughing,
breathing and bellowing,
singing off key and playing by ear.
it’s fake at times, and aches at times.
a garden of constant growing and sowing,
planting and pruning.
it’s embracing today
but hoping and planning for tomorrow,
filled with successes and failures,
headaches, heartbreaks
and heart wrenching hurts,
but it’s also hope and happiness
and hundreds of hugs.
it’s simple yet complex.
a paved road if you will,
with shards of gravel digging in our heels
that leads us through a fantastic
yet weary journey.
it’s the captivating, cautious twists, and turns
through the pages of a book,
scattered in the chapters of our story
that compile our masterpiece.
it’s the value of a moment,
now a memory
that somehow gives us time to relax and exhale
as we hold our breath through the devastation.
life is tough. but so are you.
it may not always be good
or easy or lovely.
but we’re reminded by the sunset
that each day can end beautifully.
it’s a challenge to be met,
an adventure to be had.
like a hula hoop
surrounding us in a continuous cyclone
of good things and bad,
happy times and sad,
enveloping us in uneasy pandemonium.
while today may be tough
just hold on,
have faith that it will turn around
and then it’s beautiful again.
© c. michelle bryant griffin