Is This, then, Life?

White knuckled grips on steering wheels,
strangers launching invectives from the safety of automobiles, the cyber void,
or from behind the coward's shield of 'anonymous',
A nightly two hour course on the latest offenses of mankind against himself and his world.

Is this, then, life?

Old books dancing with fairy motes of dust
holding wisdom waiting to be ferreted out and savored anew.
Red-crowned flowers, nodding diadems graced with the fleeting jewels of dragonflies,
Dogs scratching their love into flesh with horny paws,
music infusing the air with its energy,
and a stranger's smile as they hold a door for another stranger...

This, then, is life.