much of having

Prolonged, they slacken into pain
   or sadness in accordance with the law
   of apples.
            One apple satisfies.
Two apples cloy.
                     Three apples
   glut.
         Call it a tug-of-war between enough and more
   than enough, between sufficiency
   and greed, between the stay-at-homers
   and globe-trotting see-the-worlders.
Like lovers seeking heaven in excess,
   the hopelessly insatiable forget
   how passion sharpens appetites
   that gross indulgence numbs.
Result?
         The haves have not
   what all the have-nots have
   since much of having is the need
   to have.
               Even my dog
   knows that—and more than that.
He slumbers in a moon of sunlight,
   scratches his twitches and itches
   in measure, savors every bite
   of grub with equal gratitude
   and stays determinedly in place
   unless what’s suddenly exciting
   happens.
               Viewing mere change
   as threatening, he relishes a few
   undoubtable and proven pleasures
   to enjoy each day in sequence
   and with canine moderation.
They’re there for him in waiting,
   and he never wears them out.

"The Necessary Brevity of Pleasures" by Samuel Hazo from A Flight to Elsewhere. © Autumn House Press, 2005.