*****

Recorded Reading (1:46): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/o76l617b5xda62cgnar1n/Efforts-Have-Lifespand.mp3?rlkey=aczkwxafn4m3uh3uojpjgcx0f&st=j6y5bv82&dl=0

*****

Efforts Have Lifespans

You put your heart and soul
And every penny you possessed
In struggling to give it birth
And making it the very best
That love and work could see it be…
It’s okay to give it a rest

How hard you had to try
Focusing so stubbornly
How many things you didn’t buy
Attracted you pleasurably
How many conversations had
With people who did not agree

You gave it birth, you brought
It life, and life in any form
Must to the ancient patterns
Which govern life conform
In its beginning, vital,
Young, brash, vigorous and warm

Attaining in maturity
A semblance of routine
Replacing the enthusiastic
Passion there had been
Before success, when need for it
Could be more clearly seen

Success is never total
Some work must be left to do
By eager young reformers
Who will come after you
Settling into harness
With a will to see it through

And, just as yours today,
That effort they will bring to birth,
And after it has had its run,
Proven its noble worth,
Will find itself then slowing down
Sloping toward the earth

I know, my friend, it feels as though
It’s failure that you face ~
By easing it to sleep you do not
Its accomplishments erase
You’ve done well; now allow its end
With gratitude and grace

*****

The poet/editor of this website is physically disabled, and lives at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

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