today someone lost a black cat in minnesota.
this evening in hawaii, a girl and her father
saved two blind mewling kittens
from beneath a grate and dead leaves.
they were black.

this morning in mexico, an infant died of swine flu.
meanwhile, across the pacific,
a twenty-something year old
listened to fitter, happier for the first time
wondering at the last line of lyrics.
he ate a pizza laced with bacon,
char shiu and pork rinds.

it all evens out in the end.

the universe is only apparently chaotic.
all the random number generators
tied to the vibrations of subatomic particles
or frequencies of subtle radiation,
they are speaking a pattern
that is symmetrically predictable.

if you listen
closely, and long enough.

or, failing that, if you've
a habit of faith and
a preference for
complacency.

it all evens out in the end.