That Cherry-On-Top
by Odin Roark

Human-kind asks much of forever,
while the adult-child wonders.

Is there a beyond the cherry-on-top,
or only the now of a celebration?

For just as the party-minded don impatience,
while the easily-pleasured seek to relax,
thinking minds vacillate between
being one who accepts,
or one who knows not waiting?

Inevitably…

Divorce,
be it domestic, business, or friendship,
asks why spend so much time growing as one,
only to painfully separate
even as society’s brand of success,
pushes its “all as one” deceptive smile,
avoiding the question: “where might joy be real?”

Above it all,
or below it all
poets and philosophers ponder
the moral choices leading to joy,
always cognizant of the high road’s challenge,
where simple existence knows
only to honor the cherry stem
no less than the melting snows,
especially the grey slush beside
life’s much-traveled road.

The “cherry-on-top’ questions remain invigorating,
albeit frustrating,
for the sweetness of answers
continues its forever complicated resolve,
always begging the next bitter question.