we’re all looking for something
lost long ago
before we were even born

a planet of searchers
all looking for the same thing
as if absentmindedly misplaced
like a set of keys
certain we’d left them where we always do

forlorn children
going about it in different ways
alternating routes to find it
some individually / others in groups

a few more adventurous
climbing mountains / exploring ocean depths
the majority settling on a safer means

for a time believing we’ve actually found it
then disappointment setting in
begrudgingly admitting
“close - but that’s not it”

without realizing
we’re nearest to it when very young
then growing up
convinced of the right decision
we move out into the world
to get down to business

only years later
still not having found it and looking back
seeing that as youngsters
it was almost within our grasp

not to worry
the good news is we all do eventually find it
the bad is that it won’t happen until we die

not quite what we expected
yet knowing in our heart of hearts
“there it is!”

© 2001

790 hits as of March 2024

03/14/2016

Author's Note: Inspired by a strange experience I had one night. Having fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV, as I often do, I was later awoken by the sound of someone coughing upstairs. Living alone at the time, I quickly shrugged it off, but every time I started to drift back to sleep, the coughing would once again awaken me. This happened about three or four times, and so finally I decided to head upstairs to investigate. The whole thing seemed pointless, and sure enough, there was no one there. Sitting down on the edge of my bed, the line, “We’re all looking for something,” suddenly popped into my head, and from that point on, the poem essentially wrote itself. With the first draft finished in about half an hour, I then went back to sleep...in my bed...with no further interruptions of coughing.

Posted on 03/14/2016
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti