Life Lessons Poems

Writing “life lessons” poems is one of the ways I connect with and learn from life. They help me move myself through the inevitable ups and downs with as much grace as possible. And what better way to find grace than in the words of a poem? Thank you for gracing me with your presence here, and don’t forget to send a request my way before using my life lessons poems. (Please include full copyright information on every copy. For internet use, a link back to the poem on this site is required.)

FINDING THE POEM YOU WANT:  As you scroll through this section, read each snippet sample (usually the first four lines) to get a feel for the poem. When you find something you like, click “CONTINUE READING” to view the entire poem.

aging

On Finishing Well

Written by Susan Noyes Anderson on . Posted in Life Lessons Poems

©2022 Susan Noyes Anderson

To grow old is indignity and privilege, all in one.
The exercise is riddled with confusion.
Age lends a certain gravitas, when all is said and done.
And yet, how much is real…how much illusion?

Youth greets life with a blank slate and a hardy constitution,
eager for every trip around the sun.
Years fill the slate but oversee the body’s dissolution,
and all the wisdom garnered is hard-won.

Given the choice, would old folks take life on another run…
in search, perhaps, of greater resolution?
Or does knowing how it all might end before it has begun
make do-overs a dubious solution?

It seem the best course is straight-on, toward a bright conclusion.
Look gently on the tale your life has spun.
Don’t yield the field to wounds or worn-out chassis. That’s collusion.
To-finish-well may well be to-have-won.
∞§∞

If this poem resonated with you, you might also enjoy reading
Growing Old Gracefully.

life happens

Life’s Weather: Foul and Fair

Written by Susan Noyes Anderson on . Posted in LDS Poems, Life Lessons Poems

©2022 Susan Noyes Anderson

Photo by Lucas George Wendt on Unsplash

Life leaves its mark on everyone:
a bruise, a scrape, a scar.
But none of these define us.
There is more to who we are.
We cannot alter circumstance;
God only holds that power.
We cannot stop or start the rain
that falls on every flower.
It is not ours to shift the winds
of fortune, foul or fair.
Nor can we pick the troubles
we find easiest to bear.

All material ©copyright of Susan Noyes Anderson

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