Not for Me

If a link in the chain should break may it not be me

Not for me the disappointment of the family
Not for me to be the one on whom the house must fall

I am the embodiment of my family now
Because I am all that is left of it after all
And there is a limit to what my time will allow
Although I have very seldom felt limited to
Anything except myself no matter what I do

Whatever I do now has to be both for the chain
And for contemplation of "to thine own self be true "

If I lose hope now I may never find it again

Mindful of it all as I am mindful of how small
My life is knowing this is the only life I know
As short as it is and as difficult as it was

While still small and short it is better lived mindfully
Which is not to analyze but simply see the cause
Of the effect and to reject the heedlessness of
Hurrying this small short span without seeing how love
Forged these links of family and adds them as we grow

Not for me the disappointment of the family
Not for me to be the one on whom the house must fall

If a link in the chain should break may it not be me

+Steven Curtis Lance



Copyright MMVIII