Success

 This. Or Something Better

How far I have come.

How wonderful this life is.

Still, when I look into the mirror,

I sometimes laugh out loud.

I’m funny that way,

recalling that foreign objects

enter oysters to make pearls.

How it is with my many scars.

I don't always

cross bridges

with joy and ease.

I am still a work in progress,

sometimes struggling,

but always thrilled by

my fellow veterans' 

achievements and triumphs.

I enjoy seeing their success,

especially because I only

hang out with people I love,

comrades who support me.

I have made many mistakes 

but none of them 

involved loving too much.

The longer I live,

the more I see

everything is Divinity.

Every thing I have.

Every thing I do.

Every thing I achieve.

Every thing I am.

Guilt, shame, sadness and remorse 

moved my past life.

Today, though, as age and experience 

have softened and humbled me,

I know that whenever answers elude me,

when success seems to run from me,

even if I forget to be grateful for what I have,

the Grace of Spirit will carry me home.