Life Owes Me Nothing

Carlos Palacios, Insectoart.com

Life owes me nothing. Let the years

Bring clouds or azure, joy or tears;

  Already a full cup I've qualified;

  Already wept and loved and laughed,

And seen, in ever-endless ways,

New beauties overwhelm the days.

Life owes me nought. No pain that waits

Can steal the wealth from memory's gates;

  No aftermath of anguish slow

  Can quench the soul fire's early glow.

I can breathe, exulting, each new breath,

Embracing Life, ignoring Death.

Life owes me nothing. One clear morn

Is boon enough for being born;

  And be it ninety years or ten,

  No need for me to question when.

While Life is mine, I'll find it good,

And greet each hour with gratitude.

~ Author Unknown, from A Treasury of Poems compiled by Sarah Anne Stuart, p 233