Out of nothing (ghazal)

When there are no jobs to be had, you can't make a dime out of nothing

When all of the words have gone cold, you can't make a rhyme out of nothing

Don't listen, he said. Those country songs will break what's left of your heart

When there is no villain in sight, you can't make a crime out of nothing

Seek peace, she said. In the mountains we pick our way to our own kind of quiet

Where there is no air to carry it, you can't make a chime out of nothing

Breathe now, through this minute. As long as you breathe, you are living. That I know.

But when all of the minutes are gone, you cannot make time out of nothing

My friends, here we are. Free as trolls, free as snakes. We grab whatever we can.

But never tell me some blessed day I won't climb right up out of nothing