if mistakes are the best teachers,
what are their teachings?
who will enjoy the fruits of these teachings?
myself, my children, my grandchildren?
why does it seem to me that
i am doing more than my share of learning?
why are others patient with me?
is it because they’re busy learning too?
if mistakes are the best teachers,
then, how come i don’t know everything?
for a heathen, all sunsets are alike:
sunsets beckon him
to start his feast and orgy!
i’m a realist-romantic.
for me, no two sunsets are alike:
sunsets are the kaleidoscope of my past
and the mirror of my future!
from my past, i remember
surfing with the tide,
listening to my first conch,
collecting my first set of seashells,
finding my first piece of driftwood,
cutting my feet on the volcanic rock;
but most of all, i remember
my first walk, hand in hand,
with my first teenage love,
looking down and kicking sand,
knowing what i wanted to profess
(since i had rehearsed it all day),
but tongue-tied.
for my future, i see
wisdom that only comes with age,
calmness reserved only for ascetics,
freedom from the ravages of hatred,
optimism that is unfettered by experiences,
spiritual improvement that follows from faith;
but most of all, i see
peace,
a peace that comes from knowing
that i am not a bad custodian
of my little corner of this
fragile patch of the universe,
not always right,
but right enough times
to make my raison d’etre a +.
the importance
of
a grain of sand
is
dependent
on
whether
it is
at the beach
or
in your eye.