Wednesday, 1 July 2009

I'm Alive, I Believe in Everything - Lesley Choyce


Self. Brotherhood. God. Zeus. Communism.

Capitalism. Buddha. Vinyl records.

Baseball. Ink. Trees. Cures for disease.

Saltwater. Literature. Walking. Waking.

Arguments. Decisions. Ambiguity. Absolutes.

Presence. Absence. Positive and Negative.

Empathy. Apathy. Sympathy and entropy.

Verbs are necessary. So are nouns.

Empty skies. Dark vacuums of night.

Visions. Revisions. Innocence.

I've seen All the empty spaces yet to be filled.

I've heard All of the sounds that will collect

at the end of the world.

And the silence that follows.


I'm alive, I believe in everything

I'm alive, I believe in it all.


Waves lapping on the shore.

Skies on fire at sunset.

Old men dancing on the streets.

Paradox and possibility.

Sense and sensibility.

Cold logic and half truth.

Final steps and first impressions.

Fools and fine intelligence.

Chaos and clean horizons.

Vague notions and concrete certainty.

Optimism in the face of adversity.


I'm alive, I believe in everything

I'm alive, I believe in it all.


- I believe in living, breathing, myself, love, learning...many things actually. To me this poem is about yin and yang, and having an open mind. By virtue of being alive, Choyce chooses to believe in everything there is in the world - the good and bad, you can't have one without the other. By freeing your mind to endless possibilities and accepting life you grow as a person.