The Perfect Life

    The Perfect Life by John Keothe is a fascinating poem that defines his life and his opinion towards it.  It appears that when he was a younger man everything was beautiful and had a meaning. He saw his life as perfect because he was content and did not have any disappointments.  He comes to realize that his life is not as perfect as he makes it out to be because he becomes aware that he is living in denial.  His power and superiority give him a delusional contentment for a short while.  As time passes and he reaches middle age items that are beautiful and strong start to mean nothing to him. Additionally, he feels that life looses its beautiful color and becomes a cold open space. (Very depressing.) As old age settles in, so do mental illnesses such as alzheimer's which causes a person to feel alone and disoriented in the world.  He states that things he knows turn into unfamiliar faces and that he is left in a strange room. As death takes over he looks back on his life and acknowledges that in his eyes it has been perfect.
    I can somehow relate to this poem because I too have felt that my life is perfect.  When I am content and having a good time with my friends, I always think to myself "Wow, my life is perfect. What could go wrong?" After a moment like that I may make a mistake in the future and that is when I realize that my life is not as perfect as it may have seemed in the past.  The only difference with this poem and myself is that he describes what he sees and feels as his life comes to an end and I have only described what I have seen until now.  I still have to live my life and hope that the future is full of fun experiences. (Hey, I'm only a teenager!)