The line etched into a headstone
between the dates of birth and death
represents each step we take on earth
. . . and every single breath.

To many, it is but a hyphen . . .
marking time between the years,
but in that little dash, is a lifetime
of laughter, love and tears.

We each create the legacy
our dash will someday represent
and decide if the life we're given
is truly lived . . . or merely spent.

Some deem themselves successful
if they can spend in large amounts,
but how you live your only dash
is all that really counts.

Because success should not be measured
in what you will buy, or own,
but in the pride you feel
in the person you're with
. . . when you are all alone.

Time steals our days and hours
before we recognize the theft
and we live each day not knowing
how much of our dash is left.

The responsibilities of daily life;
the bills, the job, the cash,
affect the way we choose to use
this important little dash.

Life uses special moments,
much like a poet uses rhyme
to engrave upon our hearts and souls
single, precious blocks of time.

We often overlook these gifts,
though we may not mean to do it;
we walk right past a special moment
instead of walking through it.

These memories in the making,
are happening now and happening here;
if we don't take the time to make the time,
they quickly disappear.

To experience each moment,
to laugh, to love, to live...
to learn just how much to take from life,
and just how much to give.

For when our time on earth is ending,
we won't remember every day,
but we will recall those moments
we chose to live along the way.

Consider your lifetime as a novel—
you, the sole author and creator,
writing and living every chapter
for those to read and cherish, later.

Will they say you lived your dash
with worry, stress and chatter
or know you seized
every chance you had to:
Make Every Moment Matter?

---

© Linda Ellis. All rights reserved. www.LindaEllis.life

Download this poem on Etsy →