Choose life

The gorgeous red lifts slightly 

To reveal a cluster of nondescript browns, 

Further along in the process of decay 

That soon will overtake the leaf as well. 

Even the cement below 

Will someday break apart; 

That, too, we know, yet still we deny and resist 

The inevitable processes of aging 

And celebrate what’s left of youth — 

And why not celebrate? 

Surely the choice to live an exuberant life, 

However brief, 

Behooves us more than choosing to retreat; 

To die before we die, shutting ourselves off 

From joy, from delight, excitement, and the new.