Good, Good, Bad, Bad

Every system promises
To even things out, if not
To make us always happy--

Some combination of prayer,
Meditation, perspective,
Higher purpose, longer views

To save us from the whiplash
Of our ordinary days,
Our bodies' churning drama,

The sequence of homes we love
And loathe and love even more,
Houses of romance, friendships,

The dream of inhabiting
Beauty roiled by the trouble
Of staying habitable,

The falling-apart plumbing,
Invaders under our skin,
The fresh assaults of the ants,

The sleepless night that follows
The cheering dinner with friends,
Good, good, bad, bad, worse, better,

On and on, as if our lives
Were the sum of all brokers
In all financial markets

Over every boom and bust,
Bubble and burst, the long walk
Of trillions of drunk atoms

Trying to beat each other
To nowhere. We're Brownian
Emotions begging to stay

Put where we can't imagine,
Some place somehow perfectly
Still.