author’s note:

After finishing the poem below, I realized I could indeed support my thesis with a mathematical proof (see graphic above).
 

LIVING PROOF

My proof, I know
is not so obvious—
being as it is, invisible—

nonetheless, I will argue
we get better, therefore…
so does life—

get better, despite our regrets
over blind decisions—

in our regret, we fail to see
how life gets better
as age breaks us down—

gets better, as we lose and lose—

I proclaim: I must’ve gained
more than I have lost
because I wouldn’t want
to begin again—
at least, not
where I began.

Yes, the ambulations of this life
contain some weird wonderful magic:

no matter what I do, where I go
I keep heightening
—deepening—

somehow in diminishing
I grow—!

But how can I say I see
such states of being
when this magic hasn’t yet
healed my sight?

Well, though I’m still purblind
I can sometimes detect
the truth
in the dark—
when I use the darkness to feel,
because in deep feeling, I know
for certain: beyond reason:
I am closer to becoming
the one I hope to grow to be.

The one I now know I can be
despite appearances
to the contrary:
because in deep darkness, I can see

and in seeing myself
I can see you too:
see you’re also taller
…deeper.

So therefore, I say
we keep getting better
as we keep losing—

maybe we’ll finally
lose enough
to finally see
how we have always
only gained.

© 2012, Michael R. Patton
searching for the new mythology

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