Why life is brief

A very dear friend of mine lost her mother today (or rather, since it's after midnight, yesterday). I did so over the phone, but I should again offer my condolences here.

I'd been trying to collect my thoughts to write some sort of longer poem--my friend's loss was a jolting reminder that today is the fourth anniversary of my mother's fatal heart attack, and I've never managed to write through my thoughts and feelings on her loss.

While I was composing my initial thoughts, I kept thinking back on how many philosophers and theologians emphasize that one of the things that makes live precious is its brevity--that scarcity and value are inexorably linked. Dwelling on that thought, I came up with a haiku--posted below.



Death makes life precious--
That's not much comfort when faced
With a loved one's loss.