[image: life.time.com]

No Matter What No Matter Where

I have bumped against the wall of life
More than once and more than twice
And each time ready to call it quits
But that little voice just gave me fits:
“This wall was made for quitters”
It whispered in my ear
“If that’s you give it up
And I will leave you here.”

I took a deep breath and checked my aim
It pointed straight ahead to nowhere
But my destination remained the same
To different goals and better days
To laughter and to tears
To struggles and disappointments
For days and weeks and years.

And then I remembered that menu
I was handed long ago
With appetizers entrees and desserts
Fit for the palate of a king
Except for that last page
With a different kind of offering
It promised only a nameless pudding
Made with scraps coarse meal and things.

At the bottom of that simple page
Was a footnote written in script
“This pudding with humble contents
Will sustain you through thick and thin
Especially when you’re down and out
And you think you cannot win—
Do not order it unless you have the fare
To go where life takes you…
no matter what no matter where. “