Life’s Great!

This poem was written several months after I was discharged from hospital and had returned to work. It is one of two poems which show how my moods could swing fairly dramatically, probably due to depression. This poem is upbeat and optimistic; the other—The Death Knell—is sombre and reflective.

It's great!
It's great to be alive.
It's so good
It's hard to believe!
That I'm here,
Actually here and living—
In this world at this time—
Able to enjoy life,
To live it to its fullest,
To rejoice in God's Creation,
Is almost too much.
It's so hard to believe.
It's great!
I have so much to be thankful for,
Everything to gain…
Nothing to lose…
As I live this life.

Sure, things go wrong
But they're an insignificant cloud
On the horizon.
And after all
Wouldn't life be boring
If it was perfect—
If nothing went wrong?

Sure, there are things wrong with the world;
But so what?
The world is people,
And while there are people
The world can't be perfect.
But people are the world's one hope.
As long as there are still people
There is still hope
That the world's wrongs
May be made right.

Sure, there are things wrong with people.
Sure, we all have our faults,
But people wouldn't be people
Without faults.
No…people are great!
The world is great!
And life is great!
I thank God for people.
I thank God for the world.
I thank God for life.
And I thank God I'm alive.

The Death Knell