Why I Smile a While

I measure the passage of time through the life cycle
of my toothpaste tube. Although, you may argue, it's arbitrary;
With a wide, healthy smile, I say, no more arbitrary than the start and end of any day.
You say, one rotation of the Earth is the measurement we will use;
and I say, that's for the farmers. Enough time passes between each tube
that I can judge whether or not I've been living my life.
Toilet paper provides too quick of a cycle, and might only help me judge the health of my diet.
Shampoo provides too long of a cycle, and depends too much on the money I've had to pay for a haircut.
The toothpaste cycle, although not measurable by any device,
is fairly consistent because the same amount of toothpaste is used every day.
Even if there are variations in this cycle, they actually help me pass judgment on my life's activity.
Perhaps, I've been traveling, waking up in strange beds, drinking myself past the point of caring.
If the tube lasts long (and my teeth are still white), my life has been active and plentiful.
If the tube doesn't last, my life has been too much about work.
Too much consistency has always been a scary thing for me.
When the tube becomes a crumbled spiral from
too many steam-rolls on the edge of the counter
I've milked every last possible day from the current cycle.
It's time to smile and start over.