semantics

periodically, you will find
the restless and the downtrodden
asking questions of everything,
finding no comfort in answers.

answers are a fool’s game.
without asking questions
many accept the reality
handed as an answer,

regarding semantics
as jagged rocks that upset
the wild surfing waves
of tactless circumstance.

though questions seem over-
whelming when young,
watching the rolling breath
of seas without an understanding

the questions are where
the wisdom rests, asking
more and finding more
insulates the mind from rain.

and when those that were
satisfied with answers
have grown old and see
how the tide has changed

they have to start with
the essay question on the final
exam: “what have I been
doing with my life?”

to the restless it seemed
obvious – it may have been
what started that hard
nomadic life of questions,

but their answer is
hardest to accept when
the moon is low and
the sea’s retreating.