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a poem i found that i like

9 Years Ago


The Perfect Life
BY JOHN KOETHE
I have a perfect life. It isn't much,   
But it's enough for me. It keeps me alive   
And happy in a vague way: no disappointments   
On the near horizon, no pangs of doubt;   
Looking forward in anticipation, looking back   
In satisfaction at the conclusion of each day.   
I heed the promptings of my inner voice,   
And what I hear is comforting, full of reassurance   
For my own powers and innate superiority—the fake   
Security of someone in the grip of a delusion,   
In denial, climbing ever taller towers   
Like a tiny tyrant looking on his little kingdom   
With a secret smile, while all the while

Time lies in wait. And what feels ample now   
Turns colorless and cold, and what seems beautiful
And strong becomes an object of indifference   
Reaching out to no one, as later middle age   
Turns old, and the strength is gone.   
Right now the moments yield to me sweet   
Feelings of contentment, but the human   
Dies, and what I take for granted bears a name
To be forgotten soon, as the things I know   
Turn into unfamiliar faces   
In a strange room, leaving merely   
A blank space, like a hole left in the wake   
Of a perfect life, which closes over.
Source: Poetry (March 2005).