10/2/2003

I overheard them
bickering
hammers and chisels
chipping away
at the rock
given to them
one asserting
it's all illusion
the other dubious
that eternal life
without being able
to remember
who you have been
might be
more appealing
than regular reminders
that
whatever it means
time speeds up
when you get
near the end
and then
you're dead and gone
so
keeping busy
doing something
that matters to you
may be
a better preparation
for what follows
than always insisting
life is unreal.
The other
had more to say
in response
but
what caught my eye
was
how much smaller
the rock between them
had gotten
since their exchange
began.