On the Necessity of Revitalization

Upon a moving stairway we all stand
Contentment sleeps with smiling dreams atop
At base a tortured and tormenting land
Devours those souls not climbing up non-stop.
Or like a garden tended by the mind
Emotion must continually change and grow
And cultivated be or one will find
One's flowers reft of stamina and glow.
But leaves must die and earth be bare and dry;
Despair must first invade the garden plot
Before another sprout can arise, or try.
New buds will flower only from old rot.
  We hope for constant ecstasy; no pain
  But holding such a hope i've found in vain.

		Chip Patton, 1978