High On Life

I've been high on drink
now and then.
Never to excess because
the consequences exceeded 
any joy that might be found there.
Especially since the truth
is the easiest and best response;
I was high on life and that was enough.

I'm high on life
is the phrase I used
to avoid peer pressure
in my salad days.
The truth is the easiest,
and best response.

I'm surrounded by a world
collapsing in on itself.
I grab hold of the edges,
hoping to climb up and out,
where I can fly into a bright new day;
like a kite dancing in a spring breeze,
I want to be high on life again.

But life can bring you low,
and sometimes 
the truth is hard.

Elise Skidmore ©2026