Among the Fortunate
By John Herlihy

We have in our human nature the unlimited scope,
To turn the tragedy of our lives into a fleeting hope.
We all suffer unruly passions that swell in our head;
We often say things but never meant what we said.
Our intentions woven into a cloth that forge our fate,
No remittance from any wrong-doings that we hate.
Misunderstandings foster regret with their own style;
They can penetrate deep and last a good long while.
Our pretentions push us higher into the social world,
Only to find rejection, into an abiding poverty hurled.
If lucky, we find ourselves with much to be thankful,
An emerging confidence leads us to feeling grateful.
Rightly or wrongly, life offers us feelings of dejection,
Cast adrift on our own and lost on a sea of rejection.
Only to find we are cast like driftwood upon a shore,
With paths irradiated by sun beams and much more.
No one deserves less than what they may be given,
While others wait patiently for the bounty of Heaven.
Happiness but one element that we all strive to gain,
There among the fortunate where all hope to remain.