Life Perspectives Poem by Reginald Reid

LIFE PERSPECTIVE

I've heard teachers and orators
Say things they think profound.
I've seen beggars dying slowly,
Cringing fearful, huddled on the ground.
I've seen opulence and poverty,
The sun and bright stars in the sky,
The moon full bright and shining,
And heard a newborn baby cry.

I have heard a choir singing,
Seen waves crash upon the shore.
Walked about the desert,
Opened many a closed door.
I've tasted sadness and bereavement,
Laughed until I cried.
Seen the morning sunrise,
And climbed the mountains high.

I've been hungry and been satisfied.
Drank the best and worst of wine.
Run in races, danced till morning,
Worked and gained no fortune that I can claim as mine.
I have slept the sleep of innocence.
Loved and been loved many times.
Held my wife in closest union,
Lived as if there's no end to time.

I have crossed the mighty oceans,
Been to palaces and halls.
Seen the mighty fortresses
And their broken crumbling walls.
I've walked about the forest,
Seen the trees all standing tall.
Observed the wild animals
Running free, and heard their native call.

And yet within me, there is a restlessness,
Vacant, unsatisfied,
Identity suppressed.
For I am everyman.
Searching seeking still.
Yearning for the meaning,
Desiring greater knowledge,
Of the omnipotent creator and the purpose of it's will.