The Poignancy

 
I love how these poems and writings are flowing to me, through me. This one is powerful for me because I knew for 17 months that Andy was going to die.
 
The Poignancy of Living
by Richard Gilbert

I inhale and exhale in regular rhythm, An act so common it never occurs to me to pay attention. And when I do, I am overwhelmed with the wonder of it all.I eat my food, as I have done for a thousand thousand days, A practice so frequent I hardly notice the miraculous million events that happen in my body. And when I do, I am taken with their singular beauty.I greet my loved ones, as I have greeted them for years, A habit that I pass off casually Until I realize the deep poignancy of greetings and farewells, How precious they are,How they touch deeper feeling chords each time. Perhaps it is middle age, or old age, Or perhaps sentiment grows in me, Or perhaps I am awakening to lifeIn ways transcending my usual semiawake state of being.The poignancy of living in these days Penetrates me, burrows deep into psyche or soul or spirit – I know not what. I only know that I feel things more deeply with the passing years. That the common things of life become uncommon, That the ordinary becomes extraordinary, That the habitual becomes sacred.Bittersweet is the poignancy of living in these days. I awaken myself, And bow down to deep gratitude.