Either Way

Either Way
By Nathan Brown

There comes a point
when one chooses between
"something" and "nothing."
If you choose nothing,
there`s really no need to get
upset or waste any time
railing against those who
have chosen something.

God is there, or he isn`t.
Something is going on,
or it isn`t.

If someone chooses nothing,
I have a hard time understanding
an ounce of energy expended on
convincing those who believe
there`s something, that
they are woefully misguided,
because there`s actually nothing.

If there is indeed nothing,
thinking, or wanting to believe,
there`s something is really of no consequence.
One just toys along with his
or her idea of something
and eventually dies into
nothing.
No loss . . .
But if one chooses so
mething,
I`m afraid there`s work
to be done-because now,
reaching, seeking, hoping,
believing and dying . . .
and living . . . matter.

And-if there is something,
how can one who
believes in nothing blame
The one who believes in something
for trying to express to the
one who believes in nothing
that there just might be something
to this something-thing?

Why wouldn`t the something-
people want to share with
the nothing-people that there`s
something more than the
nothing of 500 cable channels?

Either way . . .

I think I`ve made
my choice.

This poem is from Nathan Brown`s new book, "Suffer Little Voices" (Greystone Press, 2005). The book is a finalist for the 2006 Oklahoma Book Award. Nathan is currently an adjunct lecturer in English at the University of Oklahoma and may be reached at nub@ou.edu.

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