Lifetimes

He was going too quickly
when she wasn't looking;
he loved the rush
and she adored sunsets,
the trajectory of two lives
like lines in the sand,
ending in right angles.

Perhaps it was
curiosity in the eye,
or hunger in the belly;
maybe it was
love in the heart
or poetry on the mind.
But life has not been harsh
to those who die
with an eyeful of beauty.

We are fools in love,
fools in hope and hatred;
we are fools with time to spare
and innocence to lose.

We make fools of each other.

We are foolish to learn
what fools are like:
that life has fooled us all,
and in death we become

the greatest fools of all.