The sky today is a reflection of my mood

Not the black of depression and despair

Nor the silver of grace and hope

But the gray of nothingness

Of tears barely held

Of pain hidden

By a thin

Veneer

Of 

calm

Based on

My need to be

Strong and in control

Of me and my surroundings

My need to feel powerful enough

To surmount any obstacle in my path

And climb any mountain life puts in my way

It is who I am and who I will always be

The only response I know to give

To the vagaries the life I live

The only anthem I sing

It has kept me safe

Through thick

And thin

Helped

Make me

The person I

Have become

The person who has

Changed my own destiny

Improved myself and my world

With nothing to guide me except my

Desire to be the best that I can be and to

Accomplish everything possible in one lifetime.

Yes the sky outside reflects my gray mood

Not as if it was a darkness of my spirit

But as a life reaffirming respite from

The constant activity required

To fulfill all the promises

I made to the world

That I would

Do what

Ever

It takes

To make it a

Better place for me

Having taken up time and

Space in the cosmos

For more than

A half of a

Century. 

Copyright 2008 Bobbi Duffy