lessons

each day one
lives one learns
one tastes the darkness
of envy
one glows in the luminescence
of pride
one tastes the ephemerality
of pleasure
one walks on the embers
of regret
the fragrance of possession is
evanescent
loss is a but a fleeting touch.

each day one
lives one learns
one breathes in air
redolent of miracles
one soaks in the
joy of harmony
one learns to
listen to silence
one touches the
shores of equanimity

if at 80 I am
the person I was at 18
life will demand
that I return
to learn.