No matter what happens,
How many setbacks
Present themselves to
Mock his mettle,
He continues his forward
Movement, remembering
That what matters is
Being on his path.
There are many occasions
When she wonders whether
What she just did is
What she should have done
And whether it will
In some way reflect poorly
On her decision-making
Ability or will just fade
Into obscurity until,
At some indeterminate time
In the future, it reappears
To remind her of
What she didn’t
Realize at the time.
They visit me at
Odd moments, remnants
Of a past existence I
Can barely relate to.
Strange reminders of
The same person
Separated only by
Time and experience.
They arrive
Unannounced and overstay
Their welcome, reviving
Memories best left forgotten.
Closing the door
Behind me, I bid them
A good day and
Go for a walk.
It was clear
He tried his best
But, as usual,
It just wasn’t enough,
It never was,
Which brings us
To today.
He’s amassed wealth
Beyond his wildest dreams,
And it is from
This lofty perch
That he decides
To shaft as many
People as he
Possibly can.
She’s become more successful
Than she ever thought possible,
And it is from this
Vantage point that
She chooses to
Help those
Less fortunate
Than her.
Brutally abused as a
Child, deprived of even
The most basic security,
She comes of age
Tempted to follow the
Same path, plenty of
People around more than eager to
Help her fulfill that prospect.
She looks inward,
Realizing that there still
Shines at her core a
Beautiful jewel drawing
Its resplendence from compassion
Rather than self-loathing,
Courage instead of fear,
Peace over anger.
It’s only in later years
That she begins to process and
Comprehend what happened
To her and how she took her
Pain and bid it goodbye,
Chose not to perpetuate the hurt,
Decided that her destiny
Was to spread love.
What are you being?
What have you become?
Walking down the street
Looking down,
Not up,
Not around,
Hoping to blend in
With the surroundings,
Pass through unnoticed
So no one can utter
What you already know.
Two brothers grow up
In the same family.
It’s not a particularly
Wonderful or unusual environment,
Filled with constant berating and
The weight of persistent unhappiness.
Nobody is praised in this house
And everyone is encouraged,
Both explicitly and implicitly,
To adopt the view that the world is
A hopeless place where you
Take your lumps and deal with it,
Grab what’s yours and hang on.
Not much light enters, but
That’s not the end of the story.
The boys grow up. One never escapes
The shadows of his past, the other
Helps people blossom.
It wasn’t always this way,
Things were better
At one point,
But probably not,
Knowing what I know now.
