Maybe Both

We are alive in

so many different ways 

whether walking down 

a snow covered sidewalk 

the trees still winter black 

lined with snow

or visiting with friends in 

a buzzing coffee shop telling 

each other tales of books, 

or recent events 

or the latest fashions. 

Passersby and neighbours 

live their lives while 

taking a walk along the frozen lake

or driving from here to there

There is no must be 

   or should be 

only what we each believe 

~ maybe a belief in 

stern, no smiling, 

one foot in front of the other, 

or it may be a belief 

    in the joy of being alive.

Maybe both?

“Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate 

or tortuous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet. Alive.”

~ Joanne Harris, Chocolat