Purple Sky

Even the rich know sorrow.
They suffer too, when it comes.
The loss of a child is even worse
for them, and anguish lies in bed

with them when darkness comes

and money cannot buy a life.
Nothing stops the storms
that tear the trees from their roots.

We forget sometimes ~

when the sun is shining and
flowers are blooming ~

that all must die one day

even those who live on top of the hill.

But if we were to think of death every day

we would stay closed like a sealed book
stuck on a shelf in back of the library
where no one goes.

Life is this moment right now

and this moment is all we really have.

Life is the gift we cannot save for another day.

Too many children die rich and poor
yet the world still turns
while their songs are sung

and their kites fly high
even as the sky turns purple.

Joanne Cucinello 2013