So here I am

at 5:20 in the morning

one cat asleep

the other pacing for breakfast

and the world is still dark

on this almost-autumn morning

age-old questions weaving

through my thoughts:

why are we here?

why am I here?

Does the universe exist because

of a random series of physical events

that brought us to this place

where I sit in the dark and wonder why?

Some of my friends would say

that to ask “why” is to start

in the wrong place. Does there have

to be a why? They would ask.

Does it have to make sense?

Does there have to be a purpose

to this existence?

But it is built in me to ask why,

and so I ask.

And all the questions – the whys

and whats and whatifs,

the whos and wheres and

even the whens,

always lead me back to Love.

What? Love.

Why? To love.

Who? To love all.

When? To love all now.

Where? To love all now and here.

It is 5:34 now.

One cat sleeps,

the other paces for breakfast.

They are here to be loved.

– Karen Molenaar Terrell