I Cannot Help But Love

The deep blue lake rests
in the remains of a volcano,
in a bed forged by ancient forces.

It reminds me of the endurance required
in the long journey of arrival into the moment.

Dare I say it?  That I am it's equal,
that my soul has a history as long.

I let it be the mirror of me
and I greet my own  arrival
making its beauty my own.

In this simple act, I cannot help
but love the world.

Or is it a veneer I put over
the mystery of birth and death
and the inevitability of nonexistence,
a lake bed that covers my own demise.

I have an end. My time is short;
and I do not have the millions of years
needed to shape myself into beauty.
But I can share in it with this lake.

In this simple act, I cannot help
but love this moment.

---

© Nick LeForce
All Rights reserved

I took a side trip on my way to Salem, Oregon recently and drove the rim of Crater Lake on September 16, 2016. I caught it on a beautiful day, the lake surface reflecting the blue sky like a mirror. I wrote this piece while on the drive feeling blessed by the beauty I witnessed and happy to have taken the detour!

Though I feel, and have been told, that I am an old soul, I sometimes wonder if the materialists are right and my sense of soul is merely illusion to mask the inevitability of of nothingness. What do you believe: Is there such a thing as a soul? Is there life after death?

And for fun:

When has a detour proven to be a blessing?

After all, maybe this life is a big detour!!!