manifestation

who gets to fill in
the colors
piece together
meld the parts
pick the words
the direction

the masterpiece
of each lifetime
an almost imperceptible
creation
a time-lapse video
not of a flower opening
a bud bursting
a storm brewing

but
of a subtle yet surging manifestation
of the accumulation
of experience
acquaintances
friends and enemies
a quiet collection of circumstance
choices and reactions
a collage of matched
and mismatched mediocrity
and splendor
victories and losses

the addition and subtraction
of joy and pain
drenched and dry
love and hurt
staying and leaving
apology and forgiveness
of multiplication

and then division
the fraction of dreams
the common denominators
of distractions
the few defining moments

a life begins
as a clean slate
a blank canvas
an empty page
dark then light

a cry in a sterile room


Barry DeCarli
October 28, 2016
On Hammond Pond
©Barry DeCarli
Photo credit: Dawn Hudson (publicdomainpictures.net)