One Truth
What have you learned
after you've reached
a certain age?
Anything tangible
that can be passed on?
Rules for life
that are universal,
or simply habits
that worked for you?
I shuffle through my
mental rollerdex,
stopping here and there
to consider a point.
I was always early
or would strive to be,
for every event
or meeting, but
when all was considered,
in both the long,
and the short term,
it didn't matter much,
and was more of an obsession,
than an endearing trait.
I always showed up
for work, did my job
without excuse and
in the long run it
didn't matter much.
Sort of like treading water,
I stayed in the same place
for all the effort.
As I sort the cards over and over,
looking for general principles,
I find that the only things
that really gave me pleasure
were those that I did
expecting no reward,
money to a desperate friend,
compliments and encouragement
to those that never get it.
But, you know, I never did
enough of those acts
to be able to say
with confidence that
this is the way.
As I sort the cards,
the one that keeps
coming up over and over
is that nothing good
can be based on a lie
no matter how
well-intentioned
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