Introspection

Life, as the sages remind us
is what we make of it, absorbing
what we can of the good
lingering in its balming effects
while the shadow of misery in
facing the obstacles to comfort
and security hovers unceasingly.
All the while as we endure
and feel we cannot possibly
struggle with yet another of
life's unforeseen assaults on the
trajectory of our expectations
in fulfilling a destiny that most
surely should be ours, it may not
help to remind our frail
sensibilities that there are vast
numbers of other far less
able to cope through their
own agency when all about them
the infrastructure of normalcy
in civilized society collapses
but it certainly cannot hurt
when we recall our opportunities
in life have surpassed theirs.